A JOURNEY 

TO 

EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND, 

IN 1869-1870. 



A JOURNEY 



TO 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND, 



IN 1869-1870. 



"7 



C 



BY 

HENRY M. HARM AN, D. D., 

PROFESSOR OF ANCIENT LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE IN DICKINSON COLLEGE, CARLISLE, PA. 



y 

" Semper ego auditor tantum?" 



PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 
1873- 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



Lippincott's Press, 
Philadelph 1 a. 



TO THE 

REV. JAMES A. McCAULEY, D.D., 

OF THE BALTIMORE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE METHODIST 
EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 

(AND NOW PRESIDENT OF DICKINSON COLLEGE,) 

AS A TOKEN OF THE HIGH APPRECIATION OF HIS CHRISTIAN CHAR- 
ACTER, INTELLECTUAL CULTURE, MINISTERIAL ABILITY AND 
FIDELITY, AND OF AN UNINTERRUPTED FRIENDSHIP, 
BEGUN IN COLLEGE DAYS, 

THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED 



BY THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



In offering to the public a volume of travels extend- 
ing over countries often visited and described, a few 
words of explanation may be necessary. For it may 
be asked, Why publish such a book ? Our answer is, 
To meet the wishes of numerous friends, and also to 
contribute something to the knowledge of the sacred 
and classical lands within a compass that may be 
easily read ; perhaps moved too by something of the 
spirit of Juvenal, " Shall I be forever a hearer only?"* 

I had for years cherished an intense desire to visit 
Europe, and especially Palestine, consecrated by the 
presence and labors of the Prophets, of Christ, and of 
his Apostles. Without visiting Europe and the Orient, 
I felt that my education was incomplete, — that there 
was a vacuum that must be filled up. 

Through the kindness of the Hon. J. A. J. Cres- 
well, Postmaster-General, I procured letters from the 
Hon. Secretary of State to the Consul-General of 
Egypt, the Consul of Jerusalem, and our Minister at 
Constantinople, Hon. Edward Joy Morris. 



* Sat., Lib. i. 



(7) 



Vlll 



PREFACE. 



At London I purchased a reconnaissance compass, 
and at Rome a tape-line, to take measurements of the 
most important objects. I also kept a journal ; I have 
combined with personal narrative and a description of 
the most important places visited historical notices, 
accompanied, in many instances, with extracts from the 
ancient writers. 

In my description of Palestine and the region of 
Suez I have noticed especially whatever would illus- 
trate Holy Scripture. I have furnished, I think, some 
good reasons for identifying Cana of Galilee with 
Kefr Kenna, five miles northeast of Nazareth, instead 
of locating it with Dr. Robinson, eleven miles north 
of Nazareth. At Athens I measured the Pnyx and 
Bema, and corrected the errors in Smith's Dictionaries. 

I have endeavored to give a faithful narrative, and 
in no case have I drawn upon the imagination for my 
facts. 

The extracts from the ancient Greek writers are 
made from the text of the originals, except those from 
Josephus, in which for the most part I have followed 
Whiston's translation. 

I omitted to state, in giving the bearing of objects 
at Athens, that the magnetic variation in 1869-70 
was 8*^° west at that city. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

i 

From New York to Liverpool. — Chester. — London. — Westminster 
Abbey. — The Tower. — British Museum. — City Road Chapel. — 
Wesley's Tomb. — Bunhill Cemetery. — Spurgeon. — Departure 
for Paris. — A Description of the French Capital. — Departure for 
Marseilles; its delightful Climate, and interesting Objects. — 
Tpulon. — Nice. — Arrival in Spezzia. — Pisa; its Leaning Tower 
and Cathedral. — Leghorn. — Florence. — The Tower of Galileo ; 
his Telescopes, etc. — Dante's House. — Journey to Rome . . 

CHAPTER II. 

Arrival in Rome. — A Description of the Pantheon. — The Seven 
Hills of Rome.— The Colosseum.— The Arch of Titus.— The 
Forum. — The Mamertine Prisons. — Cloaca Maxima. — The Wall 
and Mound of Servius Tullius. — St. John in Lateran. — Holy 
Stairs.— St. Peter's.— The Basilica of St. Paul.— A Visit to Tus- 
culum. — Departure from Rome. — Arrival in Naples. — A Visit 
to Pompeii. — Ascent of Vesuvius. — Museum of Naples. — Em- 
barkation for Alexandria. — Scylla and Charybdis. — Messina. — 
Mediterranean Sea 

CHAPTER III. 

Arrival in Egypt. — Strange Sights in Alexandria. — Pompey's Pil- 
lar.— Cleopatra's Needle.— The Copts.— Pasha's Palace.— The 
History of Alexandria : its present Condition and Prospects. — 
Departure by Rail for Cairo. — The Branches of the Nile. — Land 
of Goshen. — Products of Egypt; its Irrigation. — First Sight of 
the Pyramids. — Arrival in Cairo. —A Visit to the Citadel and 
Mosque of Mohammed Ali. — To the Banker's. — The Narrow 
Streets of Cairo; its Donkeys. — A Visit to the Pyramids; a 

(ix) 



X 



CONTEA^TS. 



Description of them. — The Sphinx. — A Visit to Heliopolis ; a 
Description of the Ancient City. — A Visit to the Ruins of Mem- 
phis. — Apis Cemetery. — Departure for the Red Sea .... 68 

CHAPTER IV. 

Red Sea. — " Wilderness."— The Mirage. — A Visit to the " Wells 
of Moses." — Expedition to the Southern Extremity of Ghebel 
Attaka. — The Recession of the Red Sea. — The Passage of the 
Israelites. — A Critical Discussion of the Place of Passage. — 
Departure for Ismailia. — The Suez Canal. — Port Said. — Diffi- 
culty with a Frenchwoman. — From Port Said to Joppa. — First 
sight of Palestine. — Landing at Joppa. — A Description of Joppa. 
— Departure for Jerusalem. — Ramleh. — Incidents by the Way. — 
Arrival in the Holy City 102 

CHAPTER V. 

A Visit to the Mosques of Omar and El-Aksah. — The Remains 
of Solomon's Temple. — Rachel's Sepulchre. — Bethlehem. — 
Mount of Olives. — Bethany. — A Walk around Jerusalem. — The 
Upper and Lower Pools of Gihon. — En-rogel. — The Pool of 
Siloam. — A Visit to the Tombs of the Kings and Judges. — De- 
parture for Hebron. — The Pools of Solomon. — Arrival in He- 
bron. — The Burial-Places of the Patriarchs. — From Hebron to 
Bethlehem. — Aqueduct from Solomon's Pools. — From Bethle- 
hem through the Desert of Judeato Mar Saba. — From Mar Saba 
to the Dead Sea. — The Jordan. — New Jericho. — Old Jericho. — 
The Howling of the Jackals. — -Return to Jerusalem. — Religious 
Services on Mount Zion. — The Garden of Gethsemane . . .123 

CHAPTER VI. 

A Description of Jerusalem. — Its Situation. — Its Valleys. — Its 
surrounding Hills. — Its Ancient Walls. — Its Modern Gates. — 
A Description of the Modern City. — Church of the Holy Sepul- 
chre not the true site of our Lord's Tomb. — Ancient His- 
tory of Jerusalem. — Josephus's Description of the Temple. — 
The Capture of the City and Temple by Titus. — Christ's Pro- 
phecy of that Event. — The Subsequent History of the Holy 
City. — Its Capture by Godfrey of Bouillon, etc 149 



CONTENTS. 



XI 



CHAPTER VII. 

PAGE 

Departure for Nablus. — Scopus. — Bethel. — Groves of Fig-trees — 
Arrival in Sinjil. — An Unpleasant Night. — A Visit to Shiloh. — 
Arrival in Nablus. — Samaritan Worship. — A Visit to Jacob's 
Well. — Ascent of Mount Gerizim. — Interview with the High- 
Priest of the Samaritans; he says he expects a Messiah; his 
views on other subjects ; he thinks that he alone of all men is 
right. — From Nablus to the Ruins of Samaria. — Jenin. — Moun- 
tains of Gilboa, Zerin (Jezreel). — The Valley ot Jezreel. — The 
Great Plain of Esdraelon. — The Brook Kishon. — Arrival in 
Nazareth; the beauty of the town; the magnificent scenery in 
its vicinity. — Mount Tabor. — Arrival at Tiberias 174 

CHAPTER VIII. 

A Description of Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee. — Tiberias once 
famous as a School of Jewish learning : Mishna and Talmud of 
Jerusalem composed there. — From Tiberias to Nazareth. — Kefr 
Kenna the true " Cana of Galilee." — Departure from Nazareth. 
— Difficulty with a Donkey-driver. — Crossing of the Kishon. — 
Elijah's Sacrifice. — Arrival on Mount Carmel. — A Description 
of Palestine. — From Caipha to Beirut. — Damascus; a Descrip- 
tion of its Location, and History of the City. — From Damascus 
to Zebedany. — To Baalbec. — The Ruins of the Temples of the 
Sun. — The Great Stone in the Quarry. — From Baalbec to Stura. 
— Return to Beirut 202 

CHAPTER IX. 

A Visit to the Sculptures at Dog River. — A Description of them. — 
Adventure in returning. — Departure for Constantinople. — The 
Steamer touches at Tripoli, Alexandretta, Mersina. — Passes near 
Rhodes, Cos, Patmos. — Arrival in Smyrna. — Description of 
Smyrna. — The Steamer passes near Lesbos. — Between Tenedos 
and the Plains of Troy. — The Entrance into the Hellespont. — 
Snow-storm. — Arrival in Constantinople. — Hon. Edward joy 
Morris. — The Mosque of St. Sophia. — Dr. Long. — A Description 
of Constantinople. — A Trip up the Bosphorus. — The History of 
Constantinople. — Reflections on the Turkish Empire. — Stanley 
declares his intention to search for Dr. Livingstone .... 235 



xii 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER X. 

PAGE 

From Constantinople to Syra. — Arrival in the Piraeus, Athens. — 
Impressions made in entering it. — The Temple of Olympian 
Zeus. — Ilissus. — Stadium. — Lycabettus. — Pentelicus. — Plain of 
Marathon. — A Visit to Eleusis. — Acropolis. — The Parthenon. — 
Theatre of Bacchus. — Areopagus. — Paul's Preaching there. — 
The Bema and Pnyx. — The History of Athens. — Departure for 
Corfu. — The Isthmus of Corinth — Incidents of the Voyage. — 
Arrival in Corfu. — From Corfu to Brindisi. — From Brindisi to 
Bologna. — Arrival in Venice. — Description of Venice and its 
History 268 



CHAPTER XI. 

From Venice to Milan. — The Cathedral of Milan. — The Church 
of St. Ambrose. — The Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci. — 
Crossing the Alps. — Arrival in Geneva. — Lausanne.— Berne. — 
Basel. — Frankfort. — Dr. Hurst. — Visit to Eisenach. — Weimar. 
— Leipzig. — Halle. — A Description of Tholuck. — Berlin. — The 
Grave of Neander. — Potsdam. — Dresden.— Intelligence of the 
Death of Dr. McClintock. — Heidelberg. — Voyage on the Rhine 
from Mayence to Cologne. — A Visit to Brussels and Antwerp. — 
Arrival in England. — A Visit to Scotland. — From Liverpool to 
New York . 300 



A JOURNEY 

TO 

EGYPT AND THE HOLY 



LAND. 



CHAPTER I. 

From New York to Liverpool. — Chester. — London. — Westminster 
Abbey. — The Tower. — British Museum. — City Road Chapel. — Wes- 
ley's Tomb. — Bunhill Cemetery. — Spurgeon. — Departure for Paris. 
— A Description of the French Capital. — Departure for Marseilles; 
its delightful Climate, and interesting Objects. — Toulon. — Nice. — 
Arrival in Spezzia. — Pisa; its Leaning Tower and Cathedral. — 
Leghorn. — Florence. — The Tower of Galileo ; his Telescopes, etc. 
— Dante's House. — Journey to Rome. 

It was on the afternoon of Monday, October 4, 
1869, that I took leave of my mother in Anne Arundel 
County, Maryland, for New York, there to embark for 
Europe. I expected to reach the city at six o'clock, 
next morning; but on account of a freshet that had 
occurred, I did not arrive until after two o'clock p.m., 
which frustrated some of my arrangements. In the 
afternoon I made a visit to Drew Theological Semi- 
nary, to see Dr. McClintock, and to obtain from him 
some letters of introduction to gentlemen in Europe. 
I was sorry to find that he was necessarily away from 
home, but he had kindly left me several letters of in- 
troduction. 

2" ( 13 ) 



14 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



The following day, Wednesday, October 6, at half- 
past three o'clock p.m., I left New York in the steamship 
4 Nebraska, 3392 tons burden, of the Williams & Guion 
line, commanded by Captain Guard. We soon lost 
sight of New York with its crowded shipping, and 
passed beyond the Hook into the wide Atlantic. 
Shortly after dark, the pilot with three ladies left the 
ship. The sky was perfectly clear. The moon, about 
three days old, and Venus, were in the western sky, 
and everything wore a delightful aspect. 

We had an English Episcopal clergyman aboard, 
who had spent some weeks in the United States, and 
had formed rather a poor opinion of the Americans 
from what he had seen in New York and Chicago. I 
told him these cities do not furnish a fair specimen of 
American morals. Some New York sharpers had at- 
tempted a confidence game upon him when the ship 
^ was about to start. The profanity of the Americans 
especially shocked him. 

October 7. The day was clear and calm. At 10 a.m. 
the temperature of the open air was 55 , water 5 8°. 
At 2 p.m., water 5 8°, air 55^°. At 5 p.m., water 6o°, 
air 50^°. 

Oct. 8. The day was again clear and calm. Passed 
several vessels; among them, the Idaho. At 5.45 
a.m., water 65 °, air 56 . 1 p.m., water 6o°, air 56 . 
Clouds in the horizon prevented me from seeing the 
sun rise, but I saw it set in a horizon perfectly clear, 
and what a beautiful sight it was ! 

Oct. 9. Saw a beautiful sunrise this morning. The 
day was clear and calm. At sunrise, air 56 , water 
56 . At noon, air 66°, water 58 . 

To-day I made the acquaintance of Prof. Tyler, of 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



1 5 



Amherst, and his wife, and of Mr. Hewitt; also that 
of Mr. Neill, United States Consul in Dublin. 

Oct. 10. Sunday. The day was clear till noon, 
when it became cloudy, and continued so for the rest 
of the day. In the morning-, a minister of the English 
Church, whom I have already introduced, read the 
Episcopal service, and preached from Matt. xi. 28 a 
good and plain sermon. 

Oct. I I. To-day I was quite sea-sick in my berth, 
and missed the sight of a fine school of forty or fifty 
whales. Last evening we got over the Banks of New- 
foundland, having crossed the middle, where the width 
is two hundred and eighty miles. The weather was 
fine to-day. At 8 a.m., air 45 °, water 46^°. At 4 p.m., 
air 50 , water 46 . 

Oct. 12. At 10 a.m., air 50^°, water 48 . To-day I 
was but little sick. 

Oct. 13. Yesterday, the sun set clear, but to-day it 
has been cloudy, and the wind from the northeast. 
Passed a steamer and a sailing vessel. 

Oct. 14. To-day it has been cloudy. Saw no vessel. 
At 4 p.m., air 50^°, water 54 . 

Oct. 18. Friday last (15th) we had a favorable wind 
from the northeast. At 11 a.m., air 53^°, water 56 . 
On Friday night we experienced a gale, which carried 
off the foretop sail. Next day the sea was high and 
rough : the ship rolled greatly. The spectacle of the 
raging sea and the numerous whitecaps was sublime. 
We could scarcely call it, with ^Eschylus, the " num- 
berless smiles of ocean." Saturday night was one of 
the most unpleasant nights that I ever spent. The ship % 
rolled from side to side, and the noise of the machinery, 
and the clattering of the various articles in the ship, 



16 A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



made it impossible to sleep. At dinner, we had the 
sliding of the plates backwards and forwards, the 
swinging of the castors, the overturning of the sauce, 
the witty remarks and the laughter of the passengers. 
On Sunday the sea became calmer, and the wind still 
more favorable. At about half-past ten, the minister 
before named read the Episcopal service and a written 
sermon. The ladies were generally sick from the 
roughness of the sea. 

Monday morning I arose about sunrise, and saw not 
far ahead Fast Net light-house, on a rock about seven 
miles from the land, and in the distance the Irish coast. 
Soon after Cape Clear was pointed out to me, and also 
Mizzen Head. The Irish coast is high, bold, and rocky, 
and abounds in excellent harbors. The whole of the 
forenoon we coasted along within a half-mile or a mile 
of Ireland, and had several squalls of rain. Later in 
the day the rocks disappeared, and we saw the sloping 
lands laid out in rectangular farms, separated by stone 
fences or green hedges. What especially attracted our 
attention was the greenness of Ireland, its splendid 
grass. Rightly has the island been called "green 
Erin." About noon we reached the harbor of Queens- 
town. This is a small, recent town, situated on a good 
harbor, about seven miles south of Cork. Here we 
landed about thirty steerage passengers, and here Mr. 
Neill left us for Dublin. Numerous gulls followed 
our ship. The passengers seemed delighted with the 
sight of land, and even those who lived on the sea 
rejoiced to see the land, their native element. At 
9^ a.m. the water was 5 2°, and at 10% a.m. the air 
was 51 . 

In the night we encountered, at the entrance of St. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



George's Channel and in the Irish Sea, a heavy gale. 
The ship made but little progress, labored, toiled, and 
pitched, making the night a most unpleasant and sleep- 
less one. 

In the morning (Tuesday) the gale still continued, 
and the coal was growing short, and navigation be- 
coming dangerous. It was not very soothing to hear 
the captain cry out to a subordinate officer, when we 
were not far from the rocks, " Are you going ashore?" 
About noon, to escape the dangers of the gale and to 
take in coal, we put into Holy Head Cove, behind the 
Breakwater, which relieved our apprehensions. 

At 1.40 next morning (Wednesday) we left the Cove, 
our ship moving off very pleasantly, and we had a fine 
passage to Liverpool, which we reached before ten 
o'clock a.m., Wednesday, October 20. An hour or 
two later we entered the dock. We had been detained 
at the bar of the Mersey River about half an hour, till 
the tide rose, which here reaches the height of thirty 
or thirty-two feet above low-water mark. It was the 
fourteenth day since we left New York. 

Life upon the sea after a few days becomes very 
monotonous. The provisions grow stale, and the 
nausea produced by the sea takes away the appetite. 
One turns sick at the sight of so much grease. We 
had breakfast about half-past eight o'clock, lunch at 
eleven o'clock a.m., dinner at four o'clock, and tea about 
eight o'clock p.m., during the voyage. We were glad 
to get fresh provisions from the land. 

The docks of Liverpool are most magnificent, being 
built of granite. Through entrances in these stone 
piers ships pass at high water into the places cut for 
them. The gates are then shut down to prevent the 



18 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



egress of the water. These docks extend along the 
Mersey for miles. 

In coming up the Irish Sea to Liverpool, we had in 
view the mountains of Wales. The summits of a part 
of them were covered with snow. 

On landing, our baggage was examined by the cus- 
tom-house officers. We tarried in Liverpool a few 
hours, and then left for Chester. One thing in Liver- 
pool especially attracted my attention, the number of 
liquor stores. We reached Chester by rail, a little 
before night, and stopped at the Grosvenor Hotel, 
where we had excellent accommodations. The day 
had been drizzly : characteristic of England. 

The town of Chester was colonized by the Romans, 
a.d. 61 ; they surrounded it with a wall, some portions 
of which are remaining, on which the present wall is 
built. The wall is principally of red sandstone, is 
about two miles in circumference, and in some places 
fifteen or twenty feet high. 

This wall affords a very pleasant walk, and, on the 
morning after our arrival, Prof. Tyler and his wife and 
myself took a walk around the top of the whole 
length of the wall before breakfast. A considerable 
portion of the town now stands outside of the wall. 
The river Dee flows around the south and the west 
of the town ; it is very likely that the Romans 
selected this site to have the river both as a defense 
and a supply of water. In the southwest corner of 
the town, within the wall, is a large grass-plot, where 
it is said the Roman soldiers used to drill. The 
Roman garrison was withdrawn a.d. 476. The name 
of the town is derived from castra, a camp. Numerous 
Roman remains, including coins, have been found in 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



I 9 



the city. We were especially interested in some rows 
of curious old buildings, the lower parts of which 
were built by Romans or Saxons. Here there is a 
very old cathedral which contains some curiosities ; 
among others, a Latin MS. of the Bible, seven hun- 
dred and fifty years old, and a tattered banner, borne 
by a British regiment at the battle of Bunker Hill. 
After breakfast, we took a carriage for Eaton Hall, the 
residence of the Marquis of Westminster. The hall 
itself was closed, the marquis being away at another 
country-seat. We obtained a pass from the agent of 
the marquis to visit the grounds. The Hall is not far 
from the river Dee, to which the yard east of the 
building extends. 

We passed over these grounds, and beheld, with in- 
describable delight, gardens of fruit and ornamental 
trees, including the cedar of Lebanon, collected from 
the four quarters of the world ; hot-houses, in which 
were growing luxuriantly pineapples, grapes, and 
flowers, — all of which beggar description. 

The estate contains sixty-four square miles, — too 
much land for one man. The estate has a deer park, 
in which were four or five hundred of these branching- 
horned animals, of which some were white. We saw 
a large number of them, and heard the loud clash of 
their horns while butting each other in battle. We 
saw also pheasants and red squirrels. The fish-ponds 
we did not visit. 

Our coach driver gave us some specimens of strong 
English. Asking him the name of a tree, he replied, 
" a hoke" (an oak), and inquiring about the name of 
another, he answered, "a hash" (ash). We observed 
on the estate a remnant of paganism, in the form of 



20 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



a stone altar with the Latin inscription : Fontibus et 
Nymphis, XX. Leg. " To the Fountains and Nymphs, 
by the 20th Legion." 

We returned to Chester from this magnificent estate, 
one of the most splendid in England, and took cars 
for London, which we reached about seven o'clock 
p.m. We passed through Shrewsbury, Warwick, and 
Oxford. We had a fine view of a part of Wales on 
the right. The whole country is a well-cultivated 
garden ; a great deal of land is set in grass, beets, and 
turnips ; we saw no waste land. We observed great 
numbers of sheep, and a considerable number of 
cattle. The beef and mutton of England are most 
excellent. 

In the vicinity of Birmingham we saw many coal 
mines, and for miles manufacturing establishments,- 
which gave a hazy appearance to the atmosphere. 

My first day in London was spent in Trafalgar - 
Square, — where are monuments to Lord Nelson, 
George IV., Napier, and Havelock, — at Westminster 
Abbey, the queen's stables, and at Quaritch's famous 
book-store. Westminster Abbey, with its tombs of. 
kings, philosophers, poets, and divines, is deeply in- 
teresting. The queen's stables contained between 
seventy and eighty horses, all bays, with the exception 
of seven cream-colored ones, six of which are har- 
nessed to the splendid state-carriage of Queen Victoria 
to carry her majesty to Parliament. 

Lord Nelson's monument, in Trafalgar Square, is a 
lofty, fluted column, on the top of which is a statue 
of Nelson ; at each corner of the square base on which 
the monument stands is a bronze lion about twenty- 
one feet long and seven feet high, in a recumbent 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



21 



posture. In this square stands also a bronze statue 
of Sir H. Havelock, with the inscription : 

To Major-General Sir Henry Havelock, K.C.B., 
And his brave companions in arms, during the campaign in India, 
1857. 

" Soldiers ! Your labors, your privations, your sufferings, and your 
valor, will not be forgotten by a grateful country. 

H. Havelock." 

A good-looking, noble, regular face, whiskered, chin 
bare. His left hand rests upon the hilt of his sword. 

Saturday I visited the British Houses of Parliament. 
They contain some fine statuary of the kings and 
queens of England, also two magnificent paintings of 
the death of Lord Nelson, and the battle of Waterloo. 
From the Parliament Houses I took boat to the Tower 
of London. Here I was in the room in which Raleigh 
slept. It has not a single window. The most inter- 
esting object in the Tower is the collection of armor 
worn by the knights of the sixteenth and seventeenth 
centuries. Figures of men in this armor, on horses, 
are arrayed in a long row. Some of the walls of the 
Tower are fourteen feet thick. The White Tower was 
built about eight hundred years ago, by W 7 illiam the 
Conqueror. A guide pointed out to us the various 
objects of interest. 

Leaving the Tower, I visited St. Paul's Cathedral, a 
most magnificent building, the lower part of which is 
occupied principally with statues of distinguished 
men. Among these, I observed that of Dr. Samuel 
Johnson, and also that of Henry Hallam, a most 
impressive figure of a great man. 

Sunday I went to the City Road Chapel, famous in 
the history of Methodism, and in which Mr. Wesley 



22 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



often preached. The church is about a hundred feet 
long, by fifty-six, built with galleries. It is pewed, 
but has no organ. The pulpit is simply a high box, 
standing out some distance from the wall. Here I 
heard an excellent sermon on faith. After service, I 
went into the cemetery in the rear of the church, 
which contains the remains of John Wesley, over 
which is erected a plain monument (of granite, I 
think) to Wesley, with the following inscription : 

To the Memory of The Venerable John Wesley, A.M., Late 
Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. This Great Light arose (by the 
singular Providence of God) to enlighten these nations, and to revive, 
enforce, and defend the pure Apostolical Doctrines and Practices of 
the Primitive Church : Which he continued to do both by his writings 
and his labors for more than Half a Century : And, to his inexpressi- 
ble joy, not only beheld their influence extending, and their efficacy 
witnessed in the hearts and lives of Many Thousands, As well in the 
Western World as in these Kingdoms, But also, far above any human 
power or expectation, lived to see Provision made by the singular 
grace of God for their Continuance and Establishment, To the Joy of 
future Generations. Reader, if thou art constrained to bless the In- 
strument, Give God the Glory. 

After having languished a few days, He at length finished His 
course and His life together, Gloriously triumphing over Death, 
March 2d, An. Dom. 1791, in the eighty-eighth year of his age. 

It is stated on the monument that it was erected 
a.d. 1 79 1, but re-edified and enlarged in 1840, during 
the Centenary of Methodism. 

In this vault are also the remains of Mrs. Martha 
Hall, Wesley's sister, who died July 19, 1791, aged 
eighty-five. Four other preachers are interred in the 
same vault. Adam Clarke, his wife, and eldest son, 
John Wesley Clarke, are buried in a vault next to that 
of Wesley. 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



23 



Opposite the City Road Chapel is Bunhill Cemetery. 
Here lie the remains of John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, the 
mother of John Wesley, Daniel De Foe (the author 
of Robinson Crusoe), and others. On one side of 
Bunyan's monument, Christian is represented with 
a burden on his back ; on the other side, he is seen 
looking at the cross. 

Sunday night I went over Waterloo Bridge to 
South London, to hear the great preacher, Spurgeon. 
I obtained an excellent seat in the first gallery, not far 
from the speaker. His church, holding about seven 
thousand, was crowded to overflowing. He is a plain, 
practical, direct, forcible, and evangelical preacher. He 
does not content himself with glittering generalities, 
but enters into particulars. I understand his member- 
ship numbers four thousand. He has certainly done a 
great work. He is a portly, well-set, chunky man. ih 

The church is of an elliptical form, very high, with 
three or four galleries, extending all the way round, 
arranged one above the other. Such a congregation 
as we had that night I never before saw assembled 
within-doors. 

Next day I visited the British Museum ; no admis- 
sion fee was required. Here is the most wonderful 
collection of antiquities, geological remains, books, 
etc., to be found in the world. I saw the famous 
Alexandrian MS. of the Bible, nearly fourteen hundred 
years old ; a copy of the Peshito-Syriac Testament, 
bearing date a.d. 468. The central library building 
contains about eight hundred thousand volumes. 

Among the objects that especially attracted my 
attention in the Museum was a giraffe (lifeless), the top 
of whose head reached a height of about twenty feet 



24 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



from the floor; an ostrich, the top of whose back 
reached a height of five feet; the legs of a dinornis, 
four or five feet long ; the remains of an ichthyosaurus, 
about twenty-seven feet long ; the skeleton of a gigan- 
tic Irish deer, about seven feet high ; the skeleton of 
a megatherium, about twenty feet long, and seven feet 
high, from South America ; tusks of a fossil elephant, 
about eight feet long; a skeleton of the mastodon 
Ohioticus, twenty-five feet long to the end of his 
horns; the Guadaloupe skeleton of a human being 
imbedded in lime; a representation of the conquest 
of Rameses II. over the Ethiopians (the Ethiopians 
are painted black ; he drives his chariot over them, 
aiming at them an arrow from a drawn bow) ; two 
winged bulls, with human heads, from Khorsabad, 
eighteen feet long, three and a half feet wide, and 
about twelve feet high ; two winged human-headed 
lions of smaller size; a lion covered with arrow-headed 
writing ; Nebo, covered with the same writing ; Esar- 
haddon ; the head of Rameses II., of enormous size ; 
Roman amphorae or jars, of stone apparently, holding 
from five to eight gallons each ; and bronze mirrors of 
the ancient Egyptians. 

The following day I visited Sydenham, south of the 
Thames, to see the Crystal Palace. The statuary and 
the paintings were deeply interesting. There was a 
large statue of Sir Isaac Newton, holding in his left 
hand an elliptic figure, with lines drawn, demonstrating 
the law of gravitation. I saw but one figure of an 
American, a bust of Washington by Canova. It did 
not seem to be a striking likeness. 

London is certainly the greatest city in the world in 
population, in wealth, and in enterprise ; its population 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



25 



is about three millions and a quarter. To attempt to 
give a picture of such a city would be useless. The 
thermometer stood at about 55 . 

I confess I was well pleased with the English. 
There is an air of strength, stability, and manliness 
about them that I could not but admire. Nor are they 
deficient in politeness ; there is an elegance in English 
gentlemen that is charming. 

Prof. Tyler, of Amherst, his wife, and myself stopped 
at the same house in London : but now we were com- 
pelled to part : the Professor for Hamburg, and I for 
Paris. It was with reluctance that I left this eminent 
man and his excellent wife. Prof. Tyler's annotated 
editions of the Greek and Latin classical writers are 
models of excellence. His other writings are also of 
a high order ; but his gentlemanly Christian character 
stands out above his eminent learning, making him a 
charming companion. I left on Tuesday, October 26, 
the London Bridge station, for the continent, by way of 
Dieppe; the fare, second class, was twenty- two shillings. 
I gave three shillings extra to obtain first-class accom- 
modations on the boat, which we took at Newhaven 
to cross the Channel to Dieppe, — a distance of fifty- 
six miles, — which we reached half-past four o'clock 
next morning. It was cold and cloudy. We were 
right in the midst of the French, who were chattering 
their " Parlez-vous." After getting some bread and 
coffee, I took cars for Paris at twenty minutes past six 
o'clock a.m. In the morning it began to snow, and 
before we reached Paris, at noon, the ground was 
covered. The train stopped for some time at Rouen. 
I asked a Frenchman whether it was usual to have 
snow so early; he replied, " Non, nonT " No, no." 

3 



26 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



At Paris, my baggage was examined, and a porter 
carried my trunk to a hotel in Rue St. Honore, where 
I obtained a room for about three francs a day ; my 
meals I generally took at a magnificent restaurant, 
Duval's, in Rue Montesquieu. The charges were 
moderate, and the fare excellent, in this restaurant. I 
generally ate two meals a day. I was in Paris nine 
days, and it rained almost every day, and it was ex- 
ceedingly disagreeable. 

On reaching Paris, finding myself in the midst of a 
people speaking a foreign language, and the weather 
rainy and dismal, I felt deeply my isolation. But these 
feelings soon passed away, and never returned. I 
became accustomed to my separation from friends and 
acquaintances, and the strange and interesting objects 
around me so fully occupied my mind that there was 
no time left for melancholy. The day after my arrival 
in Paris I began my rambles, and the inspection of the 
most interesting objects. 

Paris is situated on both sides of the river Seine, 
principally, however, on the north side. The river here 
runs from east to west, and is about one hundred and 
twenty or one hundred and thirty yards wide. The 
city is more than five miles in extent from north to 
south, and more than six from east to west. Its popu- 
lation is more than two millions. The town is very 
ancient, being mentioned by Julius Caesar under the 
name of Lutetia Parisiorum, which in the course of 
time became Parisii, taking the name of the state. In 
the time of Caesar, it was built on an island in the 
Seine. Paris is especially distinguished for its boule- 
vards. A boulevard is a wide street with a row of 
trees planted on each side. The houses are generally 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



27 



built of brown freestone; many of them are six stories 
high ; generally, the windows have shutters. The 
streets are paved with stone. To describe the most 
interesting objects in Paris, let us begin with the 
Arch of Triumph, which stood on elevated ground in 
the west part of the city, on the Avenue des Champs 
Elysees. Going up this avenue from the east, on 
the right was a large figure of Fame blowing her 
trumpet, on the left a figure (Victory or the French 
people) putting a crown of laurel upon the head of 
Napoleon I. At the top of the arch, in front, were 
inscribed the names of the places where Napoleon 
fought his great battles, Arcoli, Rivoli, the Pyramids, 
Aboukir, etc. 

Standing on this triumphal arch, and looking 
towards the east, you have the long Avenue des 
Champs Elysees ; then the Champs Elysees, which 
we might call a park ; next, the Place de la Concorde, 
with its fountains and statues, and in the centre an 
obelisk with Egyptian figures, brought from Luxor. 
This obelisk stands where stood, in the revolution of 
1789, the guillotine especially devoted to the aristoc- 
racy. Still farther eastward you see a park of large 
trees, the garden of the Tuileries, and beyond that 
low, long, reddish-looking buildings, running north 
and south, the famous Tuileries, lately destroyed. 
Here the emperor resided when in town. Beyond the 
Tuileries, with their adjoining buildings, is the renowned 
Louvre, a kind of museum. Here I saw numberless 
magnificent paintings, in the examining of which I 
grew weary. Southeast from the Louvre, you have, 
on an island in the Seine, the magnificent church 
of Notre Dame, built in the twelfth century. Still 



28 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



towards the southeast, the French Senate and the 
Museum of the Luxembourg, and a little beyond this 
the Pantheon, a building in the form of a church, with 
its dome rising over three hundred feet; from this 
dome I had a wide view of Paris. The inscription on 
the front, translated into English, is, " To Great Men 
their Country is Grateful." In this Pantheon — dedi- 
cated not to gods, but to men — I saw a statue of Vol- 
taire, and near it a sepulchral monument with the 
inscription, " To the Manes of Voltaire, by the Acad- 
emy." Tablets are erected to a considerable number 
of great men; but the inside of the edifice by no means 
corresponds to the expectation raised by the outside 
inscription. In the Pantheon is a remarkable echoing 
gallery, the powers of which I fully tested. 

Not far from the Pantheon, on the south side of the 
Seine, on the Boulevard St. Michel, is the famous 
Hotel de Cluny, — not a hotel indeed, for the French 
call almost any kind of a public building a hotel, — the 
oldest building in Paris. A part of the edifice dates 
from the beginning of the fourth century, and bears 
every mark of antiquity. Here Julian the Apostate 
was proclaimed emperor by his troops, a.d. 360, and 
here some of the first kings of France resided. To 
this building of stone, arched overhead, a more modern 
edifice has been added, and the whole converted into 
a museum of art, in which are deposited paintings, 
bas-reliefs, relics, etc., of former generations. 

It is by far the most interesting place in Paris. 
Close by the side of this old edifice is the famous in- 
stitution of learning, the Sorbonne, the University of 
Paris. Who has not heard of the famous doctors of 
the Sorbonne? Recrossing the Seine, and going 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



2 9 



about a mile towards the northeast, you have the locality 
of the Bastile, the political prison of France. Here 
stands a lofty column, with an inscription commem- 
orating the destruction of the infamous prison, and 
inscribed : " To the glory of the French citizens who 
combined and fought for the defense of the public 
liberties during the memorable days of July, 27, 28, 
29, 1830." Not far from this monument is the Place 
Vendome, where stood, until the Communist outbreak, 
a lofty column made of cannon captured by Napoleon. 
In the eastern part of the city stands the famous Hotel 
de Ville, or City Hall. 

But let us come back to the Triumphal Arch of 
Napoleon. Here boulevards from various directions 
centre. Looking towards the southeast, you see the 
Palace of Industry, and near it a round building, in 
which is a panorama of the battle of Solferino, on the 
grandest scale. Ascending this building, I saw the 
battle going on all around, — the most magnificent 
work of art I ever saw. 

Cast your eyes farther southeast, and you see a 
building with gilded dome, the Hotel des Invalides, 
under whose dome rest the remains of the great 
Napoleon, in a circular caveau, twenty feet deep per- 
haps, and forty or fifty wide. In the centre is a huge, 
brown marble coffin. Around the inside of the caveau 
stand statues. The tomb contains no inscription, but 
on the floor of the caveau, around the pedestal on 
which the coffin rests, are inscribed the names of 
Austerlitz, Rivoli, Jena, Moscow, Wagram, etc. It is 
certainly the grandest thing of the kind I ever beheld. 
These remains of Napoleon were brought from St. 
Helena, and deposited here one cold day in December, 

3* 



30 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



1840, on which, I was told, six hundred thousand of 
the military were under arms. 

When a stranger visits Paris, and sees the magnifi- 
cent churches it contains, he can readily believe that 
he is in a Christian city. But Sunday greatly dispels 
this impression. There are men engaged in building 
a house; here is one hauling; yonder is a man with 
a handcart, while another is lugging a large quantity 
of clothes, for a customer perhaps. 

Indifference to religion seems to characterize the 
mass of the people in Paris. There is, of course, a 
considerable number of downright infidels, but apathy 
seems to be the prevailing state of the Paris mind. 
But few men go to church ; that they regard as a 
female accomplishment, but unnecessary for them- 
selves. 

It is evident that the French mind has not yet re- 
covered from the terrible revolution of 1789. The 
corruptions of the Roman Catholic Church, and the 
tyranny and oppression exercised over the French by 
their rulers, and the writings of Rousseau and Vol- 
taire, prepared the way for the terrible revolution that 
followed. 

The mass of the French of the capital having but 
little faith in Roman Catholicism, and being unwilling 
to embrace Protestantism, they fly from superstition 
to infidelity, overleaping truth, that lies in the middle. 
But infidelity cannot satisfy the longings of the human 
soul after God and immortality, and the void left by 
infidelity must be filled up with something else, — with 
spiritualism, for example, for I learn that there are 
many of that creed in Paris. 

The contrast between France and England in respect 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



31 



to the effect of infidel writings, is remarkable. The 
French were carried away by Rousseau and Voltaire, 
while the English deists of the last century produced 
no lasting effect upon the common sense of the Eng- 
lish mind. But it must be remembered that Butler, 
Leland, and Paley were Protestants, and addressed a 
Protestant community ; and Lecky, in his " History of 
Rationalism," remarks that no set of men were ever 
more completely defeated than the English deists. 
Had the mass of the French been Protestants, the wit 
of Voltaire might have been comparatively harmless, 
— rather, there would have been but little place for it. 

What France especially needs is evangelical Christi- 
anity. Various efforts are now made to evangelize 
Paris, but by no means commensurate with the wants 
of the people. The Americans have a chapel and 
Protestant worship in the city, the English Wesleyans 
have also various services there, but the whole com- 
bined Protestant influence is not great. 

The Parisians pay great attention to holidays or 
fete-days ; All-Saints' Day the Champs Elysees was 
thronged with promenaders. 

From Paris I made an excursion to Versailles, a dis- 
tance of eighteen miles, to see its grand paintings. 
Here I saw splendid pictures illustrating the history 
of France and the exploits of the Crusaders. One of 
the paintings represents the procession of the Christians 
around Jerusalem. We observed also a fine, large pic- 
ture of Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the first 
crusade. He is on horseback, and holds in his right 
hand a sword, and in his left a flag containing a red 
cross. 

We also saw a large likeness of Peter the Hermit, 



32 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



and a scene representing the preaching of the second 
crusade. Whatever may be said of the fanaticism of 
these crusaders, their expedition was not more fanati- 
cal than some expeditions in modern times. It was a 
great idea also to rescue the places consecrated by the 
presence of Christ from the hands of the infidels. 

Here, among paintings of a more secular character, 
we observed one representing the retreat of the French 
from Moscow, and another their entrance into Mexico, 
— but no painting representing their leaving it did I 
see. 

The Sunday I was in Paris I attended service in the 
morning at the Wesleyan chapel, 4 Rue Roquepine, 
and heard an excellent sermon from Rev. Mr. Perks, 
one of the English Wesleyan missionary secretaries, 
an accomplished man. I met also with Rev. Mr. Rich- 
ards, accompanied by his wife, on his way to his mis- 
sionary field in Calcutta. I dined with these gentlemen 
at Rev. Mr. Gibson's, the located Wesleyan minister, 
on Sunday. In the afternoon I attended service at the 
American Chapel, where I heard Dr. Robinson preach 
a capital sermon. 

Rev. Mr. Gibson treated me kindly, which was to be 
attributed in great measure to a letter of introduction 
I handed him from Dr. McClintock. 

I preached for him in his chapel at night. One after- 
noon during the week he took me with him to preach 
for him at Chantilly, about twenty-five miles from Paris, 
where the great Prince of Conde once resided. His 
chateau was torn down during the Revolution of 1789. 
My abode in Paris was made far more pleasant to 
me through the presence and attentions of Mr. Gibson 
than it otherwise would have been ; and it is but just 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



33 



to this Christian scholarly minister that I make this 
statement. 

On Friday night, November 5, quarter to eleven, 
I took second-class cars for Marseilles, a distance of 
five hundred and thirty-six miles. The fare was about 
seventy-two francs, something less than fourteen dol- 
lars. I had my baggage registered, for which I paid 
about a franc. We passed through- Dijon, and along 
the Saone, the Arar river of Julius Caesar, which he 
describes as flowing so sluggishly that with the eyes 
it is impossible to judge in what direction it runs. 
That is its appearance now, which was confirmed to 
me by two Frenchmen, one of whom lived near the 
river. 

South of Dijon I saw numerous vineyards; grapes 
ripen here in September. I observed persons gather- 
ing up poles to which the vines had been attached. 
The houses in the South of France are covered with 
tiles. We stopped at Lyons about one hour and three- 
quarters. This city is celebrated for its silk manufac- 
tures ; but to me it was especially interesting, because 
the distinguished Christian writer, Irenseus, was bishop 
here from a.d. 177 till 202. I saw the church named 
after him. It is said that he was buried in the town. 
I started for the church and tomb, but turned back for 
fear I should not have time. A fort in the town also 
bears his name. This city has a larger population than 
Baltimore. 

At Lyons, we crossed the river Rhone, and passed 
through Avignon, once the residence of popes, and 
reached Marseilles about twenty minutes past four 
Sunday morning. After breakfast, I walked out to 
see the city. What a change from Paris, where it 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



rained almost every day, and it was nearly always 
cloudy or hazy! The day was very clear, the tempera- 
ture mild, and the air balmy, making life itself a 
luxury. I went into a Catholic church in the Rue 
Noailles ; the attendants, both men and women, seemed 
devotional. The men attend church here better than 
in Paris. 

I next took a walk to the Zoological Gardens, on 
the high grounds above the city ; there I saw, among 
other animals, two large giraffes and an Indian ele- 
phant. In the museum I observed several fine paint- 
ings : one representing the Jews taking up stones to 
throw at our Saviour. Near the Saviour is the open 
book that He has just read and laid aside. The high- 
priest, with a fillet around his head, — on which is in- 
scribed in Hebrew characters the name Jehovah, — 
looks significantly at the Jews and points to Christ. 
Our Saviour looks calm and majestic. The painting 
is large, and one of the finest and most expressive that 
I have ever seen. 

At the entrance of the museum are two large paint- 
ings, one representing the founding of the city by the 
Phocaeans, 600 B.C., the other, Marseilles, as the port of 
trade with the East, where the men of the Orient 
mingle with those of the Occident. In the afternoon 
I walked up the high bluff, between Marseilles and the 
Mediterranean (or rather Gulf of Lyons), on which is 
built the church of Notre Dame. The sky was remark- 
ably clear, — we might call it an Italian sky, — and the 
moon was visible in the west. I watched the sun as 
he sank into the west over the Mediterranean, in the 
direction of my dear native land beyond the Atlantic. 
On one side was spread out before me the Mediter- 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



35 



ranean Sea, and on the other lay the magnificent city 
of Marseilles ; the grandest sight I ever saw. Upon 
this bluff I gave myself up to reflecting how the 
world's history had been transacted around that sea. 
On its distant shores lay Egypt, Palestine, Greece, and 
Rome. " We Greeks," says Plato, " occupy but a 
small portion of the earth; we are clustered around 
the Mediterranean Sea like frogs around a marsh." 

Next day I strolled over the city in search of Greek 
antiquities, but I could not find a vestige of them. 
The population of Marseilles is about three hundred 
thousand. It is a place of very considerable trade, and 
one of the most splendid of the French cities, and 
perhaps stands next to Paris. Marseilles is built in a 
vale, around which stand high bluffs. 

At Marseilles I met with representatives of the press 
of Northern Europe, on their way to witness the open- 
ing of the Suez Canal. In conversation with these 
men, I remarked that the Americans are not a class of 
men who do nothing but keep up an eternal thinking, 
but what they think out they put into practice. 

The following day I left for Toulon by rail. Here 
I spent about five hours, and ascended the lofty tower 
of Mourillon, which gave me a fine view of Toulon 
and the adjacent regions. I saw the height, six hun- 
dred or eight hundred feet above the sea level, I should 
judge, from which Napoleon with his artillery bom- 
barded the English fleet, which lay below, at the dis- 
tance of a mile or a mile and a half, and gained his 
first renown. Here the French have a navy-yard ; 
and I observed vessels of war and marines. At twenty 
minutes past three p.m., I left in the cars for Nice, 
which I reached at fifteen minutes past nine p.m. The 



36 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



whole length of the way from Marseilles to Nice 
abounds in the most beautiful scenery. Here grow in 
the richest luxuriance the peaceful olive and the cheer- 
ful vine. The alternation of olives and vines gives to 
the Mediterranean coast a charming aspect. 

I stopped in Nice at the Hotel des Anglais, where 
I had excellent accommodations. Nice is a most 
beautiful town on the Mediterranean coast,, in the 
southeast of France. It is situated in a narrow vale, 
between bluffs rising a thousand or fifteen hundred feet 
above the sea, to which the town extends. It is a 
place of great resort for invalids in the winter months. 
Here I spent one day and two nights. The day after 
my arrival, I strolled with telescope in hand along the 
shore, ascended one of the heights, and had a splendid 
view of the town, the country, and the sea ; one of the 
grandest sights I ever beheld. On the heights around 
the town grow great numbers of olive-trees, the fruit 
of which was then ripe, for I observed several persons 
engaged in threshing them. In the town there is a 
row of palm-trees. Here I saw oranges ripening, and 
a few fig-trees. Here too I saw donkeys, the animal 
with which I was to become so familiar in old Egypt. 
In a pool close to the Mediterranean Sea I observed 
about fifty women washing clothes; the smell of soap- 
suds was horrible. I also saw fishermen with their boats 
drawn up on the land, drying their nets. The day was 
delightful, the thermometer stood in the middle of the 
afternoon at 65 °. I had for dinner fresh sardines fried ; 
they were very nice. 

One of the inhabitants of the suburbs of the town 
conducted me into his wine grotto, a natural cave, 
and poured out for me some of his wines, to show me 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



57 



his hospitality. He said he was tired of Napoleon's 
government, and that all his aspirations were to imi- 
tate the United States in their government. 

At Nice the railroad eastward terminated. I ac- 
cordingly left in a steamer for Genoa, on Thursday, 
at nine a.m. We had considerable wind from the 
north, and the day was clear. We ran along the 
Mediterranean, within half a mile from the shore. 
With telescope in hand, I viewed the various towns 
and villages, — Monaco, Villafranca, etc. The coast 
is rough, high, and broken. The sun and the sea 
made me sick, and I was compelled to take to 
my berth, and occasionally to vomit. I was more 
sick than I had been on the Atlantic. We reached 
the harbor of Genoa about half-past eight p.m. A 
small boat took me off for the steamer to Spezzia, so 
that I did not land. I saw mountains back of Genoa ; 
it was a beautiful, moonlight night. We reached 
Spezzia between three and four o'clock next morning. 
After the examination of my baggage by the custom- 
house officer, and a cup of coffee, I left, at a quarter to 
six a.m., by rail for Pisa, which I reached before nine 
a.m. I hired a carriage at two francs the hour to see 
the sights. I was driven to the cathedral ; it is in the 
form of a Latin (f) cross ; in it hangs an enormous 
chandelier suspended by a cord from seventy-five to 
one hundred feet long. The oscillations of this chan- 
delier led Galileo to discover the isochronism of the 
pendulum. 

My principal object in going to Pisa was to see the 
Leaning Tower, which stands within a few yards of the 
cathedral. The tower is of stone, and is said to be 
one hundred and forty-two feet high. It leans away 

4 



38 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



twelve or thirteen feet from a perpendicular line. I 
roughly measured the diameter of the base, by step- 
ping it off, and found it to be about seventy feet. I 
ascended to the top of the tower, and had a wide view 
of the country extending to the Mediterranean Sea 
on the south. In the north I saw snow on the moun- 
tain summits. The upper base of the tower is about 
thirty feet, I should judge. A perpendicular line, let 
fall from the middle of the upper base, would fall 
within the lower base. Much more would a perpen- 
dicular, let fall- from the central point of a horizontal 
middle section, fall within the lower base. The tower 
leans toward the east. I was beset with beggars, who 
made a display of their monstrosities to excite sym- 
pathy. In going into any curious buildings, pay was 
exacted. A man had jumped into my carriage and 
was acting as a volunteer guide, showing everything 
that was to be seen, and indicating how much was to 
be paid in each case. I grew tired of this and stopped 
him short. They seemed determined to make a two 
hours' job of it; I paid the driver two and a half 
francs and got rid of the whole party. Many of the 
Italians are dirty, and squalid-looking. 

In passing along from Spezzia, I saw Italians at 
vork ; some plowing with oxen before sun-up. A 
large number got into the third-class car, before sun- 
up, with saws, axes, etc. ; going to work, I suppose. 
They looked very common ; in parting at a station, 
they kissed each other most affectionately. On our 
left, in the hills or mountains, were quarries of white 
marble. The sun rose in the morning most beauti- 
fully, and the whole day was exceedingly clear. I 
think the Italian sky is clearer than ours. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



39 



I neglected to state that the Leaning Tower of Pisa 
was built in 1174, and that, by letting fall at the same 
instant from its top bodies of unequal weight, which 
reached the ground at the same time, Galileo con- 
founded the followers of Aristotle, who asserted that 
if bodies of different weights be let fall from a given 
height, the heavier ones would reach the ground first. 

Pisa is situated on the Arno. It is one of the oldest 
cities in Italy, and once belonged to the Etruscans. 
It is first mentioned in history 225 B.C. Its popula- 
tion at present is said to be fifty thousand. Beside the 
cathedral, already mentioned, it contains several other 
churches. 

At eleven a.m. I left Pisa, and took rail for Leghorn, 
about twelve miles distant. The name of the engine 
that drew the train was A. Lincoln. 

Leghorn is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, is a 
beautiful town, but has not much trade. A wall, about 
fifteen feet high, surrounds its principal portion. The 
population is about ninety-five thousand. The houses 
are built of stone of a whitish color, and have green 
window-shutters. I walked the town over a great 
deal, but found little that was very interesting. I was 
greatly annoyed by the beggars; even while copying 
an inscription from a monument I was interrupted by 
a beggar. As I was about to turn up a street, there 
was another beggar, with something like a hat in 
his hand, ready to take up a collection. Every few 
steps brought me in contact with a fresh lot of these 
wretched men. 

I tried to copy some inscriptions again ; I was again 
beset by a beggar. On one occasion I threw out an 
Italian sentence at one of these gentlemen, " Lavora, 



1 A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



lavora, e d'liopo lavorare;" " Work, work, it is necessary 
to work." To this he replied with something that I no 
more understood than Choctaw. Begging seemed to 
be a regular business, but whether they took out a 
license for the privilege or not I cannot say. 

I treated these beggars with a good deal o£ callous- 
ness, and gave but little. But when a beggar with but 
one leg and an old coat(?) stitched in all directions, 
hobbled up to me, I completely broke down, and ex- 
claimed, " If any man under the sun needs help, it is 
you," and gave him something. 

Having survived the numerous attacks of the beg- 
gars, I left Leghorn at a quarter to six p.m., and 
reached Florence the same evening at nine, and stopped 
at the Hotel d'Europe. 

Next morning, Saturday, I went in search of the 
Tower of Galileo. I found it on a height in the village 
Arcetri, where Galileo resided, and where he was 
visited by Milton, about a mile south of Florence. 
The tower is a part of quite an old house. The tower 
is about sixty or seventy feet high. The top is open 
and surrounded by balustrades, and is about twenty- 
five feet square. 

In the room at the base of the tower is a large 
medallion likeness of Galileo inserted in the wall, and 
underneath lies a book, in which visitors are requested 
to write their names ; I wrote mine. There is a great 
deal of pencil writing on the walls of the stairs, made 
by visitors, part of it at least in honor of the dis- 
tinguished philosopher. On the top of this tower I 
quoted the sublime passage of Milton, who alludes to 
him as the Tuscan artist. Speaking of Satan's shield, 
he says : 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



41 



" The broad circumference 
Hung on his shoulders like the moon, whose orb 
Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views 
At evening from the top of Fesole, 
Or in Valdarno, to descry new lands, 
Rivers, or mountains, on her spotty globe." 

I pronounced a eulogy also upon the great man. 

From the top of this tower I had a splendid view 
of Florence, which lay to the north, surrounded with 
hills. With telescope in hand I surveyed the country. 
I saw snow on the hills in two or three places. 

I also paid a visit to the Palace of the Pitti, which, 
before the revolution in 1859, belonged to the Grand 
Duke of Tuscany. Its furniture is most splendid. It 
was built in 1440, purchased in 1549 by the Medici, 
and has been ever since the residence of the different 
sovereigns. The palace stands on rising ground, south 
of the Arno. Adjoining the palace on the south, but 
on higher grounds, are the magnificent gardens of 
Boboli, which I also visited. The gallery of paintings 
in connection with the palace surpasses all description. 
The day had been damp and unpleasant. The follow- 
ing day, Sunday, was rainy and disagreeable. I visited 
the great cathedral and the great church of Santa 
Croce, Holy Cross. Over the door of the church of 
Santa Croce I observed an inscription in Italian that 
had just been put up on the reception of the news of 
the recovery of the health of King Victor Emanuel, 
of which the following is a translation : 

" To the most gracious and omnipotent God (A Dio 
ottimo massimo), the helper of those who truly trust 
in Him, this solemn homage of thanks, in the temple 
founded by the great men of the country, the people 

4* 



42 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



of Florence have rendered for the recovery of the 
health of King Victor Emanuel the Second. In the 
meanwhile, fearing that the dangerous disease, if it had 
not been exorcised by kind Heaven and scientific skill, 
would have robbed Italy of a constitutional prince, of 
a valiant warrior, a magnanimous father, who to the 
sacred and immortal deeds of his ancestors has added 
the most, splendid glory of his throne, in sharing that 
throne with our restored nationality." 

The church was thronged with people. 

The following day, Monday, was cloudy and un- 
pleasant. I started early in the morning for Fiesole, 
a village about three miles northeast of Florence, on a 
high hill, where Milton represents Galileo with a tele- 
scope; a poetic fiction I suppose, for I could not learn 
that Galileo ever had a telescope there. This village 
is the ancient Faesulae. 

The same day I visited the paintings and the statuary 
of the Ufizi gallery, the library of the Ufizi, the Buona- 
rotti gallery, and the House of Representatives of Italy, 
situated in the old palace that was built more than five 
hundred years ago. The seats were arranged in the 
form of a theatre, rising one above another. I also 
visited the Museum of Natural History in the Via 
Romana, south of the Arno. Here I saw a statue of 
Galileo, and the two telescopes that he used. The 
larger one, about five feet long, has an object-glass of 
about two inches. I saw also several other apparatus 
used by him in physical researches ; and one of his 
fingers in a glass case. Here there are likewise sev- 
eral paintings representing various scenes in his life. 

The first represents him when a youth, watching the 
oscillations of the chandelier in the cathedral of Pisa, 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



43 



which led to the discovery of the isochronism of the 
pendulum. The second, demonstrating, by means of 
an inclined plane, while professor at Pisa, the law of 
falling bodies, while the other professors of the town 
oppose him with texts from Aristotle. Third, exhibit- 
ing his telescope to the Doge and Senate of Venice. 
Fourth, when old and blind, explaining to his illustri- 
ous disciples, Torricelli and Viviani, the laws of falling 
bodies. 

In the evening I w T ent to see the house in which 
Dante was born. It is an old-looking, five-story, 
deserted house, in the midst of the town. It bears the 
inscription in Italian : " In qiicsta casa dci Alighieri 
nacque il divino poeta" " In this house of the Alighieri 
was born the divine poet." 

Florence is regarded as one of the most beautiful 
cities of Italy. It was founded about the time of 
Christ ; it was destroyed by Attila, but rebuilt and 
created a duchy by Charlemagne. In the Middle Ages 
it was greatly distracted by the long struggle between 
the Guelphs (the church party) and the Ghibelines 
(the party of the empire). In 1737, the family of the 
Medici, which had reigned for several centuries, be- 
came extinct, and the Dukes of Lorraine reigned till 
1859, when Florence cast off this ducal government 
and united with the kingdom of Italy, of which it was 
for several years the capital, which is now transferred 
to Rome. 

Florence has a population of about one hundred 
and thirty thousand. The houses are white, with 
green window shutters. The streets are paved with 
flag-stones. 

The Roman Church has lost much of her power at 



44 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Florence. An evidence of this is seen in the number 
of marriage notices at the mayor's office, stating that 
the ceremony would be performed by the mayor on a 
certain day, unless valid objections were urged against 
it. I saw sixty or seventy of these notices posted up 
on the outside of the mayor's office. 

The following day, Tuesday, at thirty-five minutes 
past five a.m., I left by rail for Rome, which I reached 
between nine and ten p.m., the distance being about 
two hundred and thirty-two miles ; second-class fare 
being about six dollars. The road was through Arezzo 
and Perugia. Between Florence and Rome the people 
were busy cultivating their fields, plowing with white 
buffaloes. We passed by numerous vineyards. The 
custom is to plant trees, to which the vines are attached. 
These trees are not allowed to branch out much. The 
scenery some sixty miles before reaching Rome is 
exceedingly grand, as the railroad passes through a 
wild section of country. About thirty miles before 
reaching Rome, my passport was demanded and given 
up to the Pope's officers upon entering his territory. 
It was returned before reaching Rome. In the car was 
an Irishwoman, servant in the family of an Italian 
count, who had married an American lady. I saw on 
my right, miles before reaching Rome, a river ; half 
asleep, I interrogated our Hibernian fellow-traveler 
as to the name of the river ; she answered, " Tiber!' 
Strange feelings did the sound of this name produce. 
What classic associations cluster around this river ! 
It could not but remind me that I was rapidly 
approaching " the Eternal City." 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



45 



CHAPTER II. 

Arrival in Rome. — A Description of the Pantheon. — The Seven Hills 
of Rome. — The Colosseum. — The Arch of Titus. — The Forum. — 
The Mamertine Prisons. — Cloaca Maxima. — The Wall and Mound 
of Servius Tullius. — St. John in Lateran. — Holy Stairs. — St. Peter's. 
— The Basilica of St. Paul. — A Visit to Tusculum. — Departure from 
Rome. — Arrival in Naples. — A Visit to Pompeii. — Ascent of Vesu- 
vius. — Museum of Naples. — Embarkation for Alexandria. — Scylla 
and Charybdis. — Messina. — Mediterranean Sea. 

On reaching the city, my baggage was examined by 
the custom-house officers. From the depot I went to 
the Minerva Hotel, not far from the Pantheon. Next 
morning I started for the restaurant of Antonio Bedau, 
in the street Delia Croce, which had been recommended 
to me so strongly by the Irishwoman to whom I have 
referred. I had not gone far from the hotel when I 
stumbled upon the great Pantheon, standing in the 
middle of the ancient Campus Martius, which pro- 
foundly impressed me with its vastness, its solidity, its 
antiquity, its high state of preservation, and the indi- 
cations that it might last through all time. I read on 
the frieze above its great door the Latin inscription : 
" M. Agrippa, Consul for the third time, built this." 
This was twenty-seven years before Christ. The build- 
ing is in the form of a rotunda, and is of brick. Where 
a piece of brick had been knocked off, I observed that 
it was a bright red. In front of this rotunda stands a 
portico with sixteen Corinthian columns, five feet in 



4 6 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



diameter ; eight columns in the front row, and eight 
back of these, four being on each side of the entrance. 
Seven of these columns are of gray, the other nine of 
red Egyptian, granite. The columns are said to be 
forty-six feet and a half high. We made the following 
measurements with a tape-line. Breadth of front, one 
hundred and twelve feet ; from front of portico to the 
door of Pantheon, sixty-eight feet ; from the hall-door 
to the beginning of rotunda, twenty feet : this gives the 
thickness of the wall ; diameter of rotunda, one hun- 
dred and thirty-eight feet ; breadth of door, twelve 
and a half feet; thickness of door, about one and a 
half feet. The door is of bronze, and folding, and 
no doubt belonged to the original Pantheon. The 
building has a round opening at top, and the height is 
said to be one hundred and forty -two feet. This edifice 
is called the Pantheon as far back as the beginning of 
the third century at least; for Dion Cassius,* who 
wrote at that time, assigns as the reason for the name 
the fact that the Pantheon (which means all, or for all 
the gods) contained statues of many gods ; but he him- 
self thinks that it was so called because it is in the 
form of a dome, like the vault of heaven [all divine). 
In the eighth century the Pantheon was converted into 
a Christian church, for which it is at present used. 

From the Pantheon I made my way to the Forum, 
the Arch of Titus, and the Colosseum. But before 
speaking of these places, I must say something of the 
seven hills of Rome. Imagine yourself standing at 
the Colosseum, with your face looking northwest- 
ward, in the direction of the Roman Forum. Imme- 
diately on your right is a wide-extending, moderately- 



* Lib. liii. 27. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



47 



elevated tract of land : it is the Esquiline Hill. Far- 
ther on, on the same side of you, is a rather narrow- 
elevation, in some places quite steep, and coming 
down nearly to the Forum: that is the Viminal Hill. 
Beyond this, a little west of north, is the Quirinal 
Hill, quite large and well defined. In front of you, 
beyond the Forum, is the Capitoline Hill, a very steep, 
narrow, high elevation, on which stood the Temple of 
Jupiter Tonans ; but the Church of Ara Cceli stands 
there now. On your left is the Caelian Hill, of mod- 
erate elevation, and not at all steep. On the same 
side, farther on, is the high, steep, and narrow Palatine 
Hill, which extends to the Forum ; far away to your 
left stands the large Aventine Hill, rising high and 
steep from the Tiber. That road in front of you, run- 
ning under the Arch of Titus to the Forum, is the 
Via Sacra, which Horace used to travel a great deal. 

But you are not to suppose that Rome is now situ- 
ated on these seven hills ; the Caelian, Palatine, and 
Aventine hills are nearly deserted, and the city now 
fills up the Campus Martius. The old lady has changed 
her seat and gone farther west. 

The Colosseum is the grandest old ruin in the world. 
This amphitheatre was begun by Vespasian a.d. 72, 
and dedicated by Titus a.d. 80, and completed by 
Domitian. We made with a tape-line the following 
very careful measurements of the original dimensions 
of the Colosseum, which is in the form of an ellipse: 
whole length, major axis, six hundred and twenty-six 
feet ; whole breadth, minor axis, five hundred and ten 
feet ; major axis of arena, two hundred and eighty-six 
feet ; minor axis of arena, one hundred and seventy- 
six feet. The whole original area thus covered was 



4 8 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



nearly six acres. On the south side, the outside por- 
tion, extending about half-way round, with a breadth 
of about forty feet, has been removed for building pur- 
poses, so that the Colosseum now covers about five 
acres. The Colosseum is built up with three tiers of 
arches, arranged above each other. These three rows 
of arches on the northern side are entire, and reach on 
the outside, according to my calculation, a height of 
one hundred and sixty-three feet. On the south side 
two rows of arches remain ; the upper one, however, is 
only in part, the material having been removed. Around 
the arena the seats were arranged on these arches, rising 
as they receded from it. The building is principally 
of travertine, a white concretionary limestone. 

If we subtract the arena, where the exhibitions were 
held, from the whole surface, we shall have two hun- 
dred and eleven thousand square feet of surface for 
the spectators; from this deduct one-tenth for the 
aisles or thoroughfares between the seats, and we shall 
have one hundred and ninety thousand square feet left ; 
and allowing each spectator a space of two feet and a 
half by one and a half for his seat, we find that it might 
have seated fifty thousand persons as its utmost num- 
ber. The Regionaries state that "the amphitheatre 
could contain eighty-seven thousand spectators." If 
this means it could seat them, it is a gross exaggeration. 

In this amphitheatre multitudes of gladiators fought 
and bled, and many a Christian martyr was torn to 
pieces by wild beasts for the amusement of the heathen 
populace. Pope Benedict XIV., in 1750, dedicated the 
edifice to the Christian martyrs who perished in it. 
When I was in Rome, the Colosseum was held by the 
French soldiers as a military post. They had set up 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



49 



a large wooden cross in the centre of it. I made a 
circuit of the whole amphitheatre, on the first tier of 
arches, although there were openings and crevices in 
some places that made it necessary to move with 
caution. The amphitheatre stands on level ground, 
which was the middle of the city in the Augustan age. 

Close to the Colosseum, on the west, is the Arch 
of Constantine, standing over the Triumphal Way. 
This is one of the most imposing monuments of the 
city, bearing an inscription commemorating the victory 
of Constantine over his rival Maxentius. You also 
read the inscriptions, " Liberator Urbis," Deliverer of 
the City, and " Fundator Quietis," Establisher of Peace. 

Taking the Sacred Way (Via Sacra) to the Forum, we 
pass under the Arch of Titus, to the Christian the most 
interesting monument in Rome, built in commemora- 
tion of the capture of Jerusalem by Titus, which oc- 
curred a.d. 70, fulfilling in a wonderful manner our 
Saviour's prophecy respecting that event. The arch 
is about thirty-five or forty feet high, and about six- 
teen wide inside. Near the top of the arch, on the 
side facing the Colosseum, is the following inscription: 

SENATVS 
POPVLVSQUE ROMANVS 
DIVO TITO DIVI VESPASIANI F 
VESPASIANO AVGVSTO. 

(The Senate and People of Rome to the Divine 
Titus Vespasian Augustus, the Son of the Divine 
Vespasian.) 

In the vault of the arch you see an engraved figure 
representing the soul of Titus borne aloft by an eagle, 
his apotheosis. On the right as you come from the 

5 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Colosseum, inside of the arch, is a representation of 
the triumphant chariot of the conqueror. On your 
left, you see the seven-branched golden candlestick of 
the Jews, the trumpets and some other utensils, borne 
in triumphal procession upon the shoulders of bearded 
men, the Roman conquerors. All the figures are cut 
into the stone of which the arch is built. The monu- 
ment had suffered considerably, but has been repaired. 
I made diligent inquiry to ascertain whether the Jews 
at Rome ever pass under this arch, but I obtained con- 
tradictory answers. Certainly there is no reason for their 
passing under it, as there is a broad road at its side. 

Opposite the Arch of Titus is the Basilica of Con- 
stantine, by whom it was finished. I found the width 
of one of the three arches composing it to be about 
seventy-five feet. 

Passing from the Arch of Titus, you come upon 
the remains of the Forum, at the foot of the Capito- 
line Hill. A large part of the Forum has been ex- 
cavated. A column, called the Column of Phocas, 
stands at the head of the Forum. A little beyond this, 
to the right towards the Capitoline Hill, stands the 
Arch of Septimius Severus. Beyond this, at the foot 
of the Capitoline Hill, was the Temple of Concord, 
and at its southwest side the Temple of Vespasian, of 
which three beautiful Corinthian columns are stand- 
ing. In the direction of the Colosseum, the Forum 
extended as far as the Temple of Antoninus and 
Faustina, now the Church of Lorenzo, a distance of 
two hundred and thirty yards from the northwest side 
of the Temple of Concord. Its width was about fifty 
or sixty yards, excluding the Via Sacra and adjoining 
buildings. In this great Forum judicial business was 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



Si 



transacted, and the people held meetings. In the 
adjoining buildings, brokers and others had their 
shops. 

A short distance north of the Arch of Septimius 
Severus, on the declivity of the Capitoline Hill, are 
the celebrated Mamertine Prisons, under the Church of 
St. Joseph. I visited these prisons by entering the 
church and obtaining a guide there. We descended 
a long flight of steps, leading to a room said to be 
thirty feet long, twenty-two wide, and sixteen high. 
This upper prison is below the level of the surround- 
ing soil. From this upper prison we descended into 
a lower one, underlying the upper. In this dark, 
windowless room it is said that Peter and Paul were 
imprisoned, and it contains representations of these 
apostles. One picture represents Peter baptizing the 
jailer by pouring water on his head. Both of these 
prisons are built of stone. In these dungeons per- 
ished Jugurtha, some of Catiline's fellow-conspirators, 
and other distinguished criminals. This prison is re- 
ferred to both by Livy and Sallust, and there can be 
no doubt about its identity. 

On the Capitoline Hill stands an equestrian statue, 
in bronze, of Marcus Aurelius, in a high state of pre- 
servation. The columns of Marcus Aurelius and of 
Trajan we also visited, the former reaching a height 
of over, one hundred and twenty-two, and the latter 
more than ninety-seven, feet. Both are covered with 
figures in bas-relief. 

The Mausoleum of Augustus, in the Campus Mar- 
tius, near the Tiber, where the remains of Marcellus 
were buried, so touchingly referred to by Virgil, and 
where the ashes of Augustus and those of his family 



52 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



were deposited, is now surrounded with buildings, and 
a horse stable adjoins it, — such is human greatness! 
It is a circular building, said to be about two hundred 
and twenty feet in diameter, and Strabo speaks of it as 
being surmounted by a statue of Augustus in his day. 

One of the most beautiful of the ancient Roman 
temples is that of Vesta or Mater Matuta, — for it is 
uncertain to which of these divinities it belongs, — 
near the Tiber, not far from the Cloaca Maxima. It 
is a circular temple, about twenty-six feet fn diameter, 
surrounded with a peristyle of nineteen columns ; it is 
covered with tiles. 

The most substantial and the most ancient of the 
Roman works is the Cloaca Maxima, or Great Sewer, 
built by Tarquinius Priscus, about six hundred years 
before Christ, for the purpose of draining the marshy 
ground between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills. It 
is about eight hundred feet long, and its width near 
its mouth about ten feet. It has been ascertained that 
the height of the top of the arch is twelve feet from 
its original bottom. From the new bridge over the 
Tiber I obtained a good view of its mouth where it 
enters the Tiber. The top of the arch was not more 
than three or four feet above the surface of the water 
of the Tiber, so much has the bed of the river risen. 
The arch is formed of three concentric rows of vol- 
canic rock called peperino. Some distance above its 
mouth it has an opening on top. 

While in Rome, I made a visit to the remains of 
the wall and mound of Servius Tullius, on the north- 
east extremity of the city, not far from the railway 
station, and on the railroad leading to Naples. This 
wall, built twenty-four hundred years ago, was about 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



53 



five miles in circuit, surrounding the ancient city. 
The remains that we examined are about fifty yards 
long. We found the stones to be six or seven feet 
long, three or four feet wide, and two and a half 
thick. The wall is about ten feet thick, with offsets 
six feet wide forty-two feet apart. The stones were 
evidently fastened by clamps, for there are holes in 
them for this purpose. At the end of this exposed 
wall the mound of Servius Tullius begins, quite high, 
and on it sits a colossal figure, clad in helmet, repre- 
senting Rome, looking down upon the Eternal City. 

In the southeast part of Rome, not far from the 
wall, is the celebrated Church or Basilica of St. John 
in Lateran, in which five general councils were held. 
It stands on the site of the house once occupied by the 
Roman Senator, Plautius Lateranus. " In the fourth 
century the Lateran house was conferred by Con- 
stantine on the Bishop of Rome as his episcopal resi- 
dence. It was long regarded as the first of Christian 
churches. The chapter of the Lateran still takes pre- 
cedence of that of St. Peter's ; the ceremony of taking 
possession of the Lateran Basilica is one of the first 
observed on the election of a new pope, whose corona- 
tion takes place in it, so that for fifteen hundred years 
it has preserved its rank and privileges." It is a mag- 
nificent, richly-adorned edifice, and contains statues 
of the twelve apostles. In coming out of this basilica, 
we observed on a building not far off the inscription 
in large letters : " Scala Santa," Holy Stairs. We re- 
solved at once upon seeing this sight. On entering, 
we saw a flight of steps, said to be twenty-two, of 
wood, covering the more precious ones of marble. 
The tradition is that the marble steps are the identical 

5* 



54 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



ones down which our Saviour passed when He left 
Pilate's judgment-hall. I was about attempting to 
walk up these steps (for I had not the least faith in 
their sacred character), but the priest showed me that 
I must go down, — for penitents are required to ascend 
them on their knees ; so down I went, on knees and 
elbows, a primitive way of locomotion, and soon 
reached the top, beating all my competitors in the 
race. 

I visited St. Peter's Church twice. Crossing the 
Tiber, which is here ninety yards wide, on a bridge 
as old as the second century at least, opposite to the 
Castle of St. Angelo (once the Mausoleum of Hadrian), 
after a few minutes' walk I found myself in front of 
the magnificent Basilica of St. Peter's, the wonder of 
the world. On the right and on the left is a long 
colonnade, semicircular, each supported by four rows 
of columns, forty-eight feet high, diverging from each 
side of the great church, and concealing the buildings 
on its sides. The vestibule, into which five entrances 
lead, is four hundred and sixty-eight feet long, sixty- 
six high, and fifty wide. At each end of the vestibule 
is an equestrian statue : the one on the right, of Con- 
stantine ; the other, on the left, of Charlemagne. 

Passing from the vestibule into the nave or body of 
the church, you are struck with awe and admiration, 
and bewildered at the complexity of its magnificence. 
Amid all its splendor of chapels, statues, and marbles, 
the feeling of unity is lost, and you seem to be rather 
in a collection of churches than in a single one. It 
contains twenty-eight altars and chapels. Different 
chapels are appropriated to services in different 
languages. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



55 



The church is in the form of a Latin cross (the 
transepts, or cross portion, intersecting the upright 
beyond the middle). The length of the church is about 
six hundred and thirteen feet; breadth at the tran- 
septs, or the transverse part of the cross, is about four 
hundred and forty-six feet. The facade or front, built 
entirely of travertine, is three hundred and seventy- 
nine feet wide, and about one hundred and forty-eight 
high. A majestic dome rises over the intersection of 
the upright and the transverse parts of the cross. The 
height of the dome, from the pavement to the base of 
the lanterne, is four hundred and five feet ; from the 
pavement to the top of the cross outside, four hun- 
dred and forty-eight feet. The dome is one hundred 
and thirty-nine feet in diameter inside, nearly the same 
as that of the Pantheon. Outside of this interior 
dome is another dome ; between these two domes the 
ascent to the top is made. The dome rests on four 
piers. Inside, at the base of the dome, are texts of 
Scripture referring to the primacy of Peter. 

Under the centre of the dome, over the high altar, 
stands the grand canopy of bronze, resting on four 
spiral dark columns, most richly ornamented, about 
ninety-five feet high. Under this high altar are the 
relics of St. Peter. Here ninety-three lamps are kept 
burning night and day. 

In a sunk space in front of the altar and canopy is 
a statue of Pope Pius VI., kneeling in prayer at the 
tomb of Peter. On the right side of the nave of the 
church, against the last pier, is a bronze statue of St. 
Peter on a marble chair. At the extreme end of the 
church is the bronze chair of this apostle. 

The floor of St. Peter's is of beautiful marble. Every- 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



thing is upon the grandest scale. The wealth of a great 
part of the Christian world has for ages been lavished 
upon it. To describe this magnificent basilica as it 
deserves, would require a volume ; and even then the 
description would fall short of the reality. When I was 
in Rome, they were fitting up a part of St. Peter's for 
holding the General Council. 

The architect of St. Peter's was Michael Angelo, who 
adopted the Greek cross for its form ; he died in 
1563, at the age of eighty-nine, leaving the basilica 
incomplete. After his death, three successive archi- 
tects were employed upon it, the last of whom, Mal- 
derno, completed it. Malderno converted the Greek 
cross into a Latin one by adding the facade or 
front. The basilica was dedicated in 1626. The esti- 
mated cost of the whole building up to the close of 
the seventeenth century was about fifty millions of 
dollars. 

The great defect in St. Peter's is, that the dome 
stands so far back that it cannot be seen at all by the 
spectator who stands immediately in front of the edifice, 
and becomes visible only after he has walked out a 
considerable distance. 

I made a visit to the Sistine Chapel that stands near 
St. Peter's ; but it was unsatisfactory, since for some 
reason, I know not what, they soon shut us out. My 
visit to the Vatican Museum was delightful and in- 
structive. Such a collection of Greek and Latin in- 
scriptions as is to be found nowhere else in the world 
— the number is said to be over three thousand, mag- 
nificent statuary, including the famous Apollo Belvi- 
dere, the Egyptian museum, the hall of sculptured 
animals, made by the Greeks, the gallery of paintings, 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



57 



the Etruscan museum, all combined, excite the high- 
est wonder and admiration. 

The Sunday I spent in Rome I made a second visit 
to St. Peter's, and passing along towards the south, 
through Rome beyond the Tiber, I crossed this river 
near the Cloaca Maxima. The breadth of the river at 
the Castle of St. Angelo I found to be about ninety 
yards, but about one hundred and twenty yards near 
the Cloaca. The water was muddy and nearly the 
color of clay, tinged slightly with red, called " flavus" 
by Horace. A few minutes' walk from the Tiber 
brought me into the Appian Way, which I followed 
till it passed out of the city. While traveling this road 
I pictured to myself the Great Apostle of the Gentiles 
coming up this way more than eighteen centuries ago. 
On my left I saw the tombs of the Scipios, and on my 
right I turned aside to look at the remains of the Baths 
of Caracalla, built more than sixteen centuries ago. 
These remains are the most magnificent ruins of the 
kind in Rome. The buildings are of brick. It is said 
that sixteen hundred bathers could here be accommo- 
dated at once. 

We passed under the Arch of Drusus and out of 
Rome at the Gate St. Sebastiano, and followed the 
wall along as far as the Gate of St. Paul, where stands 
the Pyramid of Caius Cestius. The wall of Rome is 
generally built of brick, and is about fifty feet high. 
At the Porta di S. Paolo (St. Paul's Gate) I took the 
road toward Ostia to visit the Basilica of St. Paul. 
Passing along, I observed an Italian inscription on a 
small chapel on the left hand side of the road ; I 
stopped to copy the precious document, which reads 
as follows : " In this place St. Peter and St. Paul going 



53 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



to martyrdom separated, and Paul said to Peter, 
Peace be with thee, the foundation of the church, 
and the pastor of all the lambs of Christ ; and Peter 
said to Paul, Go in peace, preacher of the good, and 
the guide of the salvation of the just." — Dionysius in 
his Epistle to Timothy. Here we have quoted the 
forged writings of Dionysius the Areopagite. About 
a mile and a quarter from the wall of Rome, on the 
road to Ostia, we came upon the Basilica of St. Paul. 

This basilica was completed and dedicated in 1854 
by Pius IX., and occupies the site of the ancient 
basilica, reduced to ruins by fire in 1823. The whole 
length of the basilica is three hundred and ninety-six 
feet, not including the tribune, and the length of the 
transepts two hundred and fifty (the greatest width of 
the church). Within the basilica are eighty columns 
of granite, of the Corinthian order. Besides these are 
two colossal columns of a single block, supporting the 
arch over the high altar, under which are said to be 
the relics of St. Paul, with the exception of the head, 
which is at the Lateran. This altar is surmounted by a 
Gothic canopy, and over this again is a magnificent 
canopy on four columns of red porphyry, resting on 
four columns of Oriental alabaster. In this church 
likewise rest the remains of St. Timothy. 

The basilica contains splendid paintings, represent- 
ing the stoning of Stephen, the conversion of Paul, 
and other incidents in his life. In this basilica are 
numerous paintings professing to be likenesses of the 
popes, many of them of course mere fancy sketches. 

We greatly admired the beautiful and elegant sim- 
plicity of this basilica, and preferred it to the richer 
and more gaudy Basilica of St. Peter's. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



59 



From the Basilica of St. Paul we returned to Rome 
in the afternoon (Sunday), and at night read the first 
chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. 

Before leaving Rome I made a visit to Tusculum, 
where Cicero had his celebrated villa, Tusculanum. 

I went by rail to Frascati, a distance of twelve miles 
east of Rome. For several miles upon our right, as 
we passed along through the Campagna, we saw not 
far from us the magnificent ancient aqueduct, the Aqua 
Marcia, originally built by Q. Marcius Rex, B.C. 145 ; 
it is supposed, however, that most of the arches of 
which it is composed were built in the time of Au- 
gustus. The arches are high and narrow, built of 
peperino. 

Frascati is a town of about five thousand inhabit- 
ants, situated on the southwest slope of one of the 
Alban hills, near its foot. This town arose in the 
thirteenth century, after the destruction of Tusculum, 
which stood on the same hill, about two miles farther 
up, at an elevation of about two thousand feet. 

From Frascati I started on foot for the site of the 
ancient town. I fell in with an Italian, who accom- 
panied me as a guide to the site. We followed up the 
north side of the slope, through small trees and bushes, 
and came upon the remains of aqueducts and of a 
theatre on the top of the hill. The theatre was almost 
entirely uncovered. The spectators, as they sat, looked 
in the direction of Rome. Stepping it off, we found 
its diameter or the side of the semicircle to be about 
one hundred and twenty feet. We observed no other 
ruins. In the grass we saw a donkey, to which the 
philosophical Cicero had given place. The view from 
this site is very fine. East of you is a high hill, and 



6o 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



hills are visible in the south, and also the Mediterra- 
nean Sea ; in the west you have the Campagna and 
Rome. In the north you see Tivoli, the ancient Tibur, 
at the foot of a range of hills. As we descended from 
the slope on the southwest, my guide pointed out the 
remains of Cicero's villa, consisting of walls, arches, 
and subterranean rooms. But whether they are really 
the remains of his villa, is another question. 

At Frascati I saw one of the Pope's officers wearing 
insignia with the Latin inscriptions, " For the De- 
fense of the See of Peter;" "This is the Victory that 
overcometh the World, even our Faith." I could not 
clearly see the point in the latter inscription. 

The streets of modern Rome are remarkably narrow 
and dirty, and rarely have sidewalks. I might make 
almost the same remark of Leghorn and Florence. 
The principal street of Rome is " II Corso," near the 
middle of the town ; it is generally thronged with 
people. The water of Rome is most excellent. 

The best view of Rome is obtained from the Pincian 
Gardens, on the northeast border of the town. Rome 
presents to the traveler a singular appearance with its 
antique buildings surrounded with modern houses ; 
with its pagan monuments expurgated by popes and 
dedicated to Christian purposes. 

It is easy to see that Rome is a city of popes. In 
every part of it the names of pontiffs are inscribed 
upon buildings that were ready to fall to pieces, but 
have been restored by them. And they undoubtedly 
deserve great credit for the interest they have taken in 
preserving the antiquities of the Eternal City. The 
present population of Rome is about one hundred and 
ninety thousand. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



6 1 



Before leaving Rome it was necessary to obtain 
permission of the chief of police to depart. This I 
obtained by paying five francs. It cost me nothing to 
get in, — I only paid to get out. I left on the morning 
of the 23d November by rail for Naples. At the depot 
my passport was demanded, and surrendered to an 
officer upon my entering the cars. It was a beautiful 
morning ; we passed near Albano, on the Albano Lake, 
and Lanuvium, — not to be confounded with the more 
ancient Lavinium, about three miles from the sea. I 
was delighted at the sight of these places, renowned in 
the early history of Rome. At Ceprano, about sixty- 
five miles south of Rome, my passport was returned 
to me ; this was the last station in the Pope's dominion. 
We reached Naples about six o'clock p.m., the distance 
from Rome being about one hundred and sixty-two 
miles, and the fare, second class, about five dollars. O n 
our way we had mountains with snow-capped sum- 
mits almost constantly in view. The thermometer rose 
as high as 69 . 

On reaching Naples, our baggage was examined at 
the depot ; we stopped at the Hotel de Russie. Next 
day I took cars for the excavated town of Pompeii, a 
distance of fourteen miles. The town is situated on 
ground rising gently in the form of an oval, not far 
from the Bay of Naples, and southeast of that city. 
In the time of Strabo the town was a seaport, and the 
bay evidently extended to the town. The city is very 
ancient, for Strabo speaks of the Oscans as once having 
held it. It was overwhelmed by ashes and cinders 
from an eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79, and re- 
mained unknown till 1748, when it was accidentally 
discovered. At present, the ancient city is entirely, or 

6 



62 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



almost entirely, excavated. At our visit, we could 
neither see nor hear of anything more to be uncovered. 
The city does not appear to be more than a mile, or, 
at the utmost, a mile and a half in circumference. The 
city was walled in except on the bay side. 

The streets of the town are narrow, with sidewalks 
paved with stone, and they intersect each other at 
right angles. We noticed stepping-stones at a cross- 
ing for footmen. The houses are small ; some have 
paintings on the wall, and statues in front. Scarcely 
any of these houses are entire ; all that we saw were 
of one story and had no roofs. The Forum was quite 
large, of which there are extensive remains ; it was 
paved with broad slabs of a species of marble. The 
temples of Jupiter and Venus are tolerably well pre- 
served. The Amphitheatre and the Great Theatre 
still remain. From their paintings and other works of 
art, it is evident that the inhabitants were a licentious 
people, and lost to all sense of shame and decency. 
Nearly all the works of art have been removed to the 
Museum in Naples. 

I saw in the town some amphorae, or wine jars, of 
terra cotta, about four feet high and four feet or more 
in diameter. The admission to the city is two francs. 
We had a guide who spoke French imperfectly. 

In returning to the hotel in Naples, some one stole 
my spy-glass out of my coat-pocket. I was greatly 
annoyed at this, for it was an excellent one, for which 
I paid thirty francs in Marseilles, but here in Naples 
it would have cost nearly three times as much to re- 
place it. 

The following day I paid a visit to the National 
Museum, in which are deposited the most interesting 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



6 3 



things that were found in Pompeii. The collection 
is magnificent. We counted fourteen loaves of bread 
from Pompeii, about ten inches in diameter, and two 
inches thick, cut into six or eight pieces, but not en- 
tirely separated. Of course it looked very stale, as it 
was about eighteen hundred years old. Objects from 
Pompeii, unfit for the public eye, are put in a room 
by themselves, and over the entrance is the inscrip- 
tion : " Oggetti Osceni." ' 

Next day I took omnibus to Portici, three or four 
miles, and there hired a horse and guide for Mount 
Vesuvius, for which I paid thirteen francs. I paid two 
francs additional to a man to help pull me up the moun- 
tain. We passed over fields of immense quantities of 
lava, wonderful in form and extent, reaching two, and 
in one place three, miles from the foot of the cone. We 
passed by the observatory of Vesuvius, on an elevated 
point of land a mile or more from the foot of the cone. 
On reaching the base of the cone, I dismounted fro m 
my nag, which had taken me safely over the lava on 
a narrow road, and here began the ascent of the cone, 
which was a very laborious task. The perspiration 
poured from me, and it seemed to me that I would be 
compelled to abandon the undertaking; but by resting 
frequently, and being occasionally assisted, I succeeded 
in reaching the lower crater, from which lava had 
poured forth the previous year, and from which sulphur- 
ous vapors were still issuing. My guide beckoned to 
me to hold my nose. Here was no large opening. I 
ascended to the top of the cone, out of which was 
issuing a heavy cloud of smoke. Here I had a splendid 
view of Naples, the bay, and the surrounding country. 
Naples appeared no larger than a good-sized village, 



6 4 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



while distant towns appeared as variegated white 
patches. Occasionally I was enveloped in clouds. 
Vesuvius rises about four thousand feet above the 
level of the sea. I walked part of the way around 
the crater ; but a change of wind brought the sulphur- 
ous blasts upon me, and I held my nose and darted 
down the cone. In coming down, my boots sank into 
the cinders almost to their tops. I again mounted my 
nag and rode back to Portici, and met three beggars 
in the way in succession. 

At present, Mount Vesuvius consists of two sum- 
mits : the southern and highest, which is an active vol- 
cano, and the northern summit. Between these two is 
a hollow. It was entirely different nineteen hundred 
years ago, as appears from Strabo :* " Very beautiful 
fields lie around Mount Vesuvius, except on the sum- 
mit, which is in great part level, but wholly barren, 
ash-colored, and exhibits cavernous hollows of black 
rocks, looking as if they had been burnt by fire ; so 
that one might infer that this place in former times 
was in a state of conflagration, and had craters of fire, 
which were extinguished when the material gave out." 
The great eruption in a.d. 79, and the subsequent 
eruptions, have greatly changed this condition. Below 
the lava, in the direction of the Bay of Naples, the 
soil, formed of disintegrated lava, is very rich. 

Naples is a city of five hundred thousand inhabit- 
ants. The houses are high and closely huddled 
together. It is beautifully situated on a bay of the 
same name. The town is very old, and is mentioned 
by the Greek and Roman writers under the name of 



* Lib. v. 8. 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



65 



" Neapolis." We found the water bad, and the town 
itself by no means very attractive, in spite of the 
Italian proverb, " Vedi Napoli e mori:" "See Naples 
and die." 

It had been my intention to go from Naples to 
Foggia and Brindisi by rail, and to take steamer at 
the latter place for Alexandria in Egypt. But, at 
Naples, I accidentally saw announced the sailing of a 
steamer for Alexandria, on Sunday, November 28, fare, 
first class, including provisions, one hundred and fifty 
francs, about thirty dollars ; about twenty-six dollars 
cheaper than by the Brindisi route. Satisfying myself 
of the safety of this line of steamers of Rubattino & 
Co., I obtained a ticket, on Saturday, for Alexandria. 
The agent told me I could purchase it on Sunday, but 
I told him that Americans were not in the habit of 
doing business on Sunday. 

Sunday morning I took boat and went on board the 
steamer Egitto, and after one p.m. we set sail for Alex- 
andria, and bid farewell to Naples and Vesuvius. Who 
at sight of these places can refrain from quoting the 
lines of Tasso, " Gerusalemme Liberata," where speak- 
ing of the breath issuing from the mouth of Satan, he 
says : 

" Like those sulph'rous vapors born 

In thunder, stench, and the live meteor's light, 
When red Vesuvius showers, by earthquakes torn, 
O'er sleeping Naples, in the dead of night, 
Funereal ashes !"* 

We soon passed the high, rocky island of Capri, in- 
habited in spite of its barren appearance. Next morn- 



* Wiffen's Translation. Canto iv., 8'. 
6* 



66 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



ing Sicily and the southern extremity of Italy, the toe 
of the boot, were visible. We passed through the 
Strait of Messina, — about three-fourths of a mile wide 
in its narrowest part, — between Scylla on the left and 
Charybdis on the right; but we saw nothing formidable 
in the appearance of either. There were apparently 
rocks on the left, and on the right a low, sandy beach. 
In this instance, as in many others, poetic fiction has 
greatly exaggerated the truth. 

The south of Italy and Sicily are both high. We 
entered the harbor of Messina about eleven o'clock, 
and remained three hours to take in coal, which was 
brought from England. The town of Messina is small, 
but has considerable trade ; in the harbor was lying 
the yacht of the Empress of the French. I went ashore 
for awhile. Back of the town we observed many olive- 
trees. 

I had been quite sea-sick since leaving Naples. In 
the evening (Monday) I saw in the distance lofty ^Etna, 
quietly resting from his numerous labors. Wednesday 
morning Cape Matapan was visible in the northeast, 
then Cerigo, and in the evening Candia or Crete. The 
sky of the Mediterranean, when clear, is very brilliant. 
We observed that the sun rose with round disk, differ- 
erent from the Atlantic, where he arose with elongated 
form. The water of the Mediterranean is deep blue. 

On our steamer we had an Italian count, who had 
been a member of the Italian Parliament, and governor 
of Agrigentum ; he was on a secret mission from the 
kingdom of Italy to the Khedive of Egypt. He spoke 
English quite well, and in the course of conversation 
he expressed the earnest desire of the Italian kingdom 
to obtain Rome, and remarked that a very large sum 



AND THE HOI. Y LAND. 



6 7 



had been spent in vain upon the Eternal City. While 
opposed to the temporal power of the Pope, they were 
born-Catholics and could not be anything else. I told 
him that he must not encourage the Khedive of Egypt 
to revolt from the Grand Sultan, for in that case I would 
be in a critical state in Palestine, — between two fires ; 
to which he remarked that Americans are respected 
everywhere. 

The Italians on board were quite amused at the dis- 
parity between the berth assigned me in the steamer 
and my own proportions. The berths were small ; 
large enough, however, for an Italian, but not for a 
well-grown American. 



68 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



CHAPTER HI. 

Arrival in Egypt. — Strange Sights in Alexandria. — Pompey's Pillar. — 
Cleopatra's Needle. — The Copts. — Pasha's Palace. — The History of 
Alexandria: its present Condition and Prospects. — Departure by 
Rail for Cairo. — The Branches of the Nile. — Land of Goshen. — 
Products of Egypt; its Irrigation. — First Sight of the Pyramids. — 
Arrival in Cairo. — A Visit to the Citadel and Mosque of Mohammed 
Ali. — To the Banker's. — The Narrow Streets of Cairo ; its Donkeys. 
— A Visit to the Pyramids ; a Description of them. — The Sphinx. — 
A Visit to Heliopolis; a Description of the Ancient City. — A Visit to 
the Ruins of Memphis. — Apis Cemetery. — Departure for the Red 
Sea. 

Early on the morning of December 4, we came in 
sight of the low coast of Egypt ; we saw the palace of 
the Pasha and many windmills on our right ; an Arab 
pilot with flowing robes and Turkish cap came on 
board. About eight a.m. we entered the harbor of 
Alexandria and cast anchor. We observed in the har- 
bor several fine steamers, and here for the first time we 
saw floating the Mohammedan ensign, — the moon about 
three days old, with one star or more in the concave 
part. Our ship soon attracted the Arab boatmen, who 
came aboard in crowds. And such a scramble there 
was for the passengers ! They seemed determined to 
take possession of me without any regard to my own 
wishes, and when I bargained with one of them to be 
taken ashore, another expressed his fears that I had 
got into trouble. A few minutes' rowing brought me 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



6g 



to land and to the custom-house. Here my baggage 
was examined. Passports are required all through the 
Turkish empire. One of the custom-house officers fol- 
lowed me to obtain some backshish. 

The first thing that strikes the traveler upon landing 
in Egypt is the filth he everywhere sees. I made my 
way through the dirty streets, following the porter who 
was carrying my trunk ; he took me first to the Hotel 
d'Europe, where the charge was . sixteen shillings a 
day; but disliking the appearance of things here, I 
went to the Peninsular and Oriental Hotel, where the 
charge is sixteen shillings a day, and the fare is most 
excellent ; this is the best hotel in Alexandria. I 
stepped into a barber-shop near the hotel to be shaved, 
and I was shaved face and pocket too ; for on asking 
how much I was to pay, he answered two francs, about 
thirty-eight cents. I told him that was dear, but his 
reply was, " This is Egypt." In the hotel I met with 
a Mr. Earickson, of Rochester, New York. He had 
with him a servant, whom he hired in France, and a 
dragoman, a native of Malta; he was on his way to 
Thebes. He kindly invited me to take a ride with 
him around the city. We visited Pompey's Pillar and 
Cleopatra's Needle. These monuments, and indeed all 
the obelisks of Egypt, are made of a very hard, red- 
dish granite, called syenite. Pompey's Pillar stands 
south of the city on a small eminence, not far from Lake 
Mareotis, and close to the Mohammedan burying- 
ground. According to Wilkinson, its height is ninety- 
eight feet nine inches, the shaft seventy-three feet, and 
the circumference twenty-nine feet eight inches. Wilk- 
inson supposes that this monument " silently records 
the capture of Alexandria by the arms of Diocletian 



70 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



in a.d. 296." Cleopatra's Needle stands near the Great 
Harbor, now called New Port, not far east of the Frank 
square. It is considerably undermined. Its height, 
according to Wilkinson, is seventy feet, and its diameter 
at the base seven feet seven inches. It is said to have 
been brought from Heliopolis by one of the Caesars. 
On the suburbs of Alexandria we saw some Bedouins 
encamped ; we made our way through the dogs that 
were very fierce into one of the tents ; it was quite 
small, and there was little that .was striking except 
the beautiful white teeth of the woman, and the shaved 
head of the boy, with a single tuft remaining in front. 
We observed a hand-mill worked by one woman. The 
color of these Bedouins was that of copper. 

Saturday afternoon I mounted a donkey for the 
novelty of the thing, to ride to the bazaar. It seemed 
to me that I cut a ridiculous figure. A large man, more 
than six feet high, riding a little donkey ! I looked 
around on all sides to see if any one laughed. But it 
seemed strange to nobody. An American lady, how- 
ever, who saw me from the hotel window, laughed, as 
she afterwards told me. Nothing seems strange or 
out of order in Alexandria. I bought at the bazaar a 
Turkish cap for three francs, for which I was asked 
six. 

Sunday morning I obtained a guide, and paid a visit 
to the Coptic church. But as the church — which was 
large — was rebuilding, no service was held there, and 
I was quite disappointed. One of the Copts chanted 
for me some Coptic service, but as I did not give him 
much backshish he soon grew weary. They have 
the gospels in Arabic. I saw several Coptic females 
standing close by, well dressed and partly veiled, of 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



7* 



the color of bright copper. As I approached these 
timid sisters, they became apparently frightened, and 
my guide told me I must keep away from them. This 
advice I indignantly spurned, telling him that I was an 
American. I paid my respects to these sisters. The 
font in which the Copts baptize infants by immersion 
was pointed out to me ; it was not large enough for 
the immersion of adults. I left for the English Chapel, 
where I found a congregation numbering from seventy- 
five to one hundred. The contrast between the well- 
dressed, elegant-looking English men and women and 
the dirty natives was striking. The sermon we heard 
was by no means an able one. 

I could not distinguish the Copts from the native 
Moslems of Egypt. The small size and the copper or 
reddish-brown complexion is the same. 

" The Copts are undoubtedly descendants of the 
ancient Egyptians, but not an unmixed race ; their an- 
cestors in the early age of Christianity having inter- 
married with Greeks, Nubians, Abyssinians, and other 
foreigners. We observe some striking points of re- 
semblance, and yet upon the whole a considerable 
difference, between the Copts and the ancient Egyp- 
tians, if we may judge of the latter from the paintings 
and sculptures in their tombs and temples. The dif- 
ference, however, is easily accounted for by the fact 
of the intermarriage of the modern Copts with foreign- 
ers above mentioned. The eyes of the Copt are 
generally large and elongated, slightly inclining from 
the nose upwards, and always black ; the nose is 
straight, excepting at the end, where it is rounded and 
wide. The lips are rather thick, and the hair is black 
and curly. The Copts are, generally speaking, some- 



72 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



what under the middle size ; and so, as it appears from 
the mummies, were the ancient Egyptians."* 

The Copts belong to the sect of Christians called 
the Monophysites, whose doctrine, that Christ has but 
one nature, the Divine, was condemned by the Council 
of Chalcedon, in the middle of the fifth century. 
There is a small portion of them, however, that belong 
to the Roman Catholic and to the Greek faith. 

On Sunday afternoon, in company with Mr. Earick- 
son, I paid a visit to the palace of the Pasha ; it stands 
on the north side of the Old Port, the harbor that is 
now used, and commands a beautiful view of the 
shipping, and also of a portion of Alexandria. The 
palace cannot be called splendid. Its style is princi- 
pally European. We saw fine chandeliers, and in one 
room some very large, wide divans, which had the 
appearance of being very inviting seats. In another 
room we observed an elegant circular, or rather ellip- 
tical, table of marble, on the top of which was in- 
wrought, in mosaics, the principal antique buildings 
of Rome. This table was a gift from the present 
Pope to the Khedive of Egypt. 

What a strange city this Alexandria is ! The 
European or American, who for the first time lands 
at Alexandria, seems to be in another world. The 
transition from Naples to Alexandria is sudden. What 
a mixture of inhabitants you see ! Nubians, black as 
coal, Abyssinians, Copts, Armenians, Greeks, Arabs, 
Englishmen, Frenchmen, Italians, and Americans. To 
this mass of human beings you must add camels, 
horses, asses, and dogs. What a medley of languages, 



* Lane's Modern Egyptians, vol. ii., 312, 313. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



73 



too. Here the Oriental life predominates, and here 
the West comes in contact with the East, and shows, 
in the most striking manner, its superiority over the 
Orient. On one side of the picture you see the dirty, 
squalid native, whose ignorance is in proportion to his 
dirt; on the other, the well-dressed, intelligent, pro- 
gressive European, who looks down, with an air of 
superiority, upon the natives of the soil. 

The females generally go veiled. We observed 
some of them wearing veils with two small holes for 
the eyes ; but the usual fashion is to wear a veil 
attached to a piece of wood or horn ending in a hook. 
This hook is attached to the top of the forehead, and 
the veil covers the lower part of the face from the 
upper part of the nose. But the most painful sight is 
the number of dirty, miserable-looking women. We 
saw no native women in Egypt that were attractive ; 
and the same may be said of the East in general. In 
striking contrast with the misery of the people is the 
climate of Egypt (in winter), and its soil. Here we 
are reminded of the language of the hymn, " only 
man is vile." In this city there are nine or ten places 
of Christian worship. 

Dogs in Egypt, and in the East in general, are a very 
conspicuous element. They greatly resemble wolves, 
and seem to be of the same species from the Nile to 
the Bosphorus. Many of the dogs of the East are 
said to have no owners. On the Sunday night while I 
was in Alexandria they kept up a great barking. 

Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great, 
B.C. 332. He chose as the site of his new city the 
narrow neck of land, or isthmus, lying between Lake 
Mareotis on the south, and the Mediterranean Sea on 

7 



74 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



the north. There was a village, Rhacotis, on the west 
part of this site. Northwest of the city, at the distance 
of three-fourths of a mile, was the island Pharos, on 
which stood the famous light-house of the same name. 
A dyke, or causeway, afterwards united this island to 
the city. Diodorus Siculus, a celebrated historian, 
who lived about the time of Christ, in speaking of the 
return of Alexander into Egypt from his expedition 
into the Lybian Desert, thus remarks on the founding 
of the city : " Having determined to found a city in 
this (country), he commanded those entrusted with 
this charge to build the city between the lake and the 
sea. Having measured off the place, and ingeniously 
laid out the streets, he named the city after himself, 
Alexandria. The city thus being most conveniently 
situated near the harbor of Pharos, he so arranged the 
streets that the Etesian winds might blow through the 
city. And as these winds sweep over a vast sea, and 
furnish the city with pure air, he contributed greatly 
to the good temperature and health of the inhabitants. 
The city wall he made of great size and of wonderful 
strength ; for lying between the great lake and the sea, 
it has but two narrow avenues of approach from the 
land, and these are very easily guarded. Finally, the 
place resembles a cloak, and has a street of wonderful 
length and breadth, running through nearly the middle 
of the city. For it extends from gate to gate, and has 
a length of forty stadia (about four and a half miles), 
and a breadth of a hundred feet, and is everywhere 
adorned with costly houses and temples. Alexander 
also gave orders that they should build a palace won- 
derful in size and strength. Not only did Alexander, 
but also nearly all those who after him until our time 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



75 



have reigned over Egypt, adorn the palace itself with 
costly buildings. Upon the whole, the city so in- 
creased in the times subsequent (to Alexander), that 
many persons reckon it the first city in the world. 
For both in beauty and size, and in the greatness of its 
revenues, and in the abundance of the necessaries of 
life, it far surpasses other cities. The number of its in- 
habitants also surpasses that of other cities. For, indeed, 
when we went into Egypt, those who keep the regis- 
ters of the inhabitants told us that the free citizens 
who live in the city amount to more than three hun- 
dred thousand."* 

According to the Greek geographer Strabo, who 
also lived about the time of Christ, the length of Alex- 
andria was about thirty stadia (about three and a half 
miles), while its breadth was seven or eight stadiaf 
(about seven-eighths of a mile). If the number of free 
citizens of Alexandria was over three hundred thou- 
sand, the whole number was most probably five or six 
hundred thousand, as we may reasonably suppose 
there was a large number of slaves. But according 
to Strabo, the city did not cover more than three 
square miles, and, in a city with wide streets and 
numerous public buildings, a population of six hun- 
dred thousand or even five hundred thousand is incon- 
ceivable. Upon the whole, we are disposed to adopt 
the smaller dimensions of the city, as given by Strabo, 
which might reduce the whole population to three or 
four hundred thousand. 

Alexandria was one of the most distinguished Chris - 



* Lib. xvii., cap. 52, from the Greek of Tauchnitz's edition, 
f Lib. xvii. 



7 6 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



tian cities of the earlier centuries. According to Euse- 
bius, St. Mark first introduced the gospel into this city. 
Here at the close of the second century flourished 
Flavius Clemens, president of the catechetical school 
of the city. In the next century we find here the great 
Origen, the most illustrious man of the early church. 
A long list of Alexandrian writers adorn the annals 
of the church. Here, during the reign of Theodosius 
the Great, one of the last vestiges of paganism was 
destroyed, the statue of the god Serapis, whose wor- 
ship was brought from the Black Sea coast. " It was 
confidently affirmed," says Gibbon, " that if any im- 
pious hand should dare to violate the majesty of the 
god, the heavens and the earth would instantly return 
to their original chaos. An intrepid soldier, animated 
by zeal, and armed with a weighty battle-axe, ascended 
the ladder ; and even the Christian multitude expected 
with some anxiety the event of the combat. He aimed 
a vigorous stroke against the cheek of Serapis ; the 
cheek fell to the ground ; the thunder was still silent, 
and both the heavens and the earth continued to pre- 
serve their accustomed order and tranquillity. The 
victorious soldier repeated his blows ; the huge idol 
was overthrown and broken in pieces ; and the limbs 
of Serapis were ignominiously dragged through the 
streets of Alexandria. His mangled carcass was 
burnt in the amphitheatre, amidst the shouts of the 
populace."* 

Alexandria soon became distinguished for learning, 
and its literary and commercial prosperity continued 
until its capture by Amer for the Caliph Omar, a.d. 



* " Decline and Fall," vol. iii., page 147. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



77 



640. After a siege of fourteen months and the loss of 
three-and-twenty thousand men, the Saracens prevailed ; 
the Greeks embarked their dispirited and diminished 
numbers, and the standard of Mohammed was planted 
on the walls of the capital of Egypt. " I have taken," 
said Amer to the Caliph, " the great city of the west. 
It is impossible for me to enumerate the variety of its 
riches and beauty; and I shall content myself with 
observing that it contains four thousand palaces, four 
thousand baths, four hundred theatres or places of 
amusement, twelve thousand shops for the sale of vege- 
table food, and forty thousand tributary Jews. The 
town has been subdued by force of arms without treaty 
or capitulation, and the Moslems are impatient to seize 
the fruits of their victory."* 

After this the prosperity of Alexandria gradually 
declined, "and when, in 969, the Fatimite caliphs seized 
on Egypt and built New Cairo, it sunk to the rank of 
a secondary Egyptian city." Its population at one 
time is said to have declined to about six thousand. 
But in the last few years it has greatly increased, and 
may now be put down at about one hundred and 
twenty thousand, independent of the soldiers. 

Should the Suez Canal prove a success, or in case 
of a failure, should a railroad connect Port Said with 
Suez, Alexandria must cease to be the great port of 
trade between Europe and the East Indies and China, 
and again decline. 

On Monday morning, quarter to nine, December 6, 
I left by railroad for Cairo. The fare, second class, 
was about seventeen and a half francs, and I had to 



* "Decline and Fall," vol. v., page 227. 

7* 



78 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



pay two and a half rupees (about $1.25) for my trunk. 
My ticket was printed in Arabic and English. As I 
passed along I observed the Arabs variously employed ; 
some were plowing with two chocolate-colored buf- 
faloes. The Egyptian plow is a kind of shovel of 
iron attached to one end of a piece of wood, while the 
other end serves for a handle. Connected with this is 
the beam fastened to a yoke about ten feet long. In 
one instance, I saw a horse and a cow yoked to the 
same plow. Other Arabs were engaged in drawing 
water to irrigate the fields. The machinery consists 
of a wheel about ten feet in diameter, around which 
are arranged earthen pots attached to a cord, some- 
what like a chain-pump. To the axis of this wheel is 
attached another wheel with cogs, into which fit the 
cogs of a large horizontal wheel turned by one buffalo 
or more, and thus the water is brought up from the 
canal cut from the Nile and poured into a trench, 
which conducts it over the fields. 

In the days of Moses, a different kind of machine 
seems to have been employed. " For the land, whither 
thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, 
from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy 
seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of 
herbs." — Deut. xi. 10. The machine here referred to 
seems to have been a tread-wheel turned with the foot, 
just as spinning-wheels are sometimes turned. 

The Egyptians live in miserable clay huts, and cul- 
tivate the soil, which is dark and exceedingly rich. 
The great products that I observed were cotton, wheat, 
dhoura (a small species of maize or Indian corn), and 
sugar-cane. Not far from Alexandria I saw some barley 
standing. I also saw many acacia-trees (the shittim- 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



79 



trees of Scripture). This tree bears considerable re- 
semblance to the locust-tree, and has a diameter of a 
foot or a foot and a half. We crossed the Rosetta and 
then the Damietta branch of the Nile, and between 
these two great branches several small streams. The 
Rosetta branch, which is wider than the Damietta, is 
not more than two or three hundred yards wide where 
we crossed it. The Nile was quite high and muddy, 
tinged with a reddish color. In some places the 
country was still under water. Canals are cut from 
the Nile for the purpose of irrigation. 

The Nile is lowest in May and June, begins to rise 
about the first part of July, and reaches the highest 
point in the last of October. When we crossed the 
Damietta branch of the Nile we were in the land of 
Goshen, the best of the land. This land of Goshen 
lay between the eastern arm of the Nile, the Pelusiac, 
and the north end of the Red Sea. It is also called the 
land of Rameses. 

While in the cars on my way to Cairo, I had an in- 
telligent Arab of Alexandria, evidently of the higher 
class, pronouncing Arabic for me. I offered to pay 
him, but he declined receiving any compensation. I 
then offered him some coffee ; this he refused with the 
single word, " Ramadan." This fast month of the Mos- 
lems began on the third of December, with the new 
moon. The Moslems keep this fast very strictly. They 
neither eat nor drink anything, not drinking even 
water, nor do they smoke, from morning twilight till 
sunset. But during the night they feast. The mor- 
tality is said to be greater during this month than 
during any other. As the Mohammedan year consists 
of twelve moons, which make about three hundred 



8o 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



and fifty-four days, the month of Ramadan falls some- 
times in the summer season, when the fast is very 
oppressive. There was a sheikh in our car, and my 
Arabic book attracted his attention. He observed to 
the dragoman that he supposed I was traveling over 
the world to see who is right and who is wrong. He 
seemed anxious to know my age, and judged me to be 
a great deal older than I really was. I surprised him 
when I told him that not only was my mother living,* 
but my grandmother also. 

About three p.m. the dragoman exclaimed, " The 
Pyramids !" Looking through the window on the 
right, I saw for the first time the three Pyramids of 
Gizeh at a distance of fifteen or twenty miles. They 
appeared of a bluish cast. In thirty or forty minutes 
more we reached Cairo. The journey from Alexandria, 
a distance of one hundred and thirty miles, had occu- 
pied about six hours. From the depot we were taken 
in a carriage to the " New Hotel," kept by English. 
Next morning I asked what my bill was, as I had 
understood that their charge was a pound a day. The 
young man replied, " Just one pound," nearly five dol- 
lars. I immediately inquired again, " If I remain till the 
afternoon, how much will it be ?" " The same," said he. 
" Then I will remain till the afternoon," replied I. 

Since the civil war in the United States, the price of 
everything in Egypt has increased enormously. As 
England was cut off from a supply of cotton from the 
Southern States, it was necessary that she should ob- 
tain it from some other source. Egypt and India be- 
came the sources of this supply. Multitudes flocked 



* This, alas ! is no longer true. 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



81 



to Egypt to raise cotton and to make fortunes ; the 
price of almost everything went up. Besides this, the 
opening of the Suez Canal had attracted to Egypt 
many visitors, and when the hotel proprietors ascer- 
tained that the Khedive was to pay the hotel bills of 
his invited guests, they increased the regular charge 
four shillings a day for all their guests. I left this hotel 
for the Hotel d'Europe, where the charge was fifteen 
francs a day, about three dollars. I remained in this 
hotel till I left Cairo. I did not like this one as well 
as the " New Hotel." 

The day after my arrival in Cairo I called on our 
consul-general, Hon. Charles Hale, and handed him 
a letter of introduction from Hon. Hamilton Fish, 
Secretary of State of the United States. In this letter 
the honorable secretary recommended us to such at- 
tentions as would make our stay agreeable and useful. 
Mr. Hale treated me kindly. 

Mr. Hale spent his time partly in Alexandria and 
partly in Cairo. Since my visit to Egypt, Mr. Butler 
has been appointed in Mr. Hale's place. 

From the office of the consul-general I went to the 
citadel on a donkey. In Alexandria I rode a donkey 
for the novelty of the thing, but here I used him for 
convenience. The donkeys of Egypt are celebrated 
for their activity. Cairo is thronged with donkeys ; 
the boys who keep these animals standing in the great 
thoroughfares generally speak some English, and al- 
most force their donkeys upon you. Of course there 
is a lively competition among these drivers. " One 
donkey !" " Very goot !" The donkey boy goes along 
with you, and with a stout, long stick beats the don- 
key. As he lays on the blows, he utters from his 



82 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



throat a prolonged sound, " ha-ah," in which the ha is 
sounded a great deal like ha in the word hand, but 
with the h strongly aspirated. In going to the citadel 
my donkey driver passed through a bazaar or place of 
marketing. The narrow street was crowded and seemed 
impassable ; but it did not seem so to my driver, for 
seizing the donkey by the bridle-rein, he parted the 
natives right and left, while I greeted them in Arabic, 
"Saldm alakom" " Peace be with you." They seemed 
rather amused at this. But I have since understood 
that this salutation from a Christian is by no means 
acceptable to Moslems, who think a Christian has no 
peace to give. Upon reaching the mosque at the cit- 
adel, before entering its yard or court, I was required 
to pull off my boots and put on slippers. You are 
never allowed to enter a mosque with your shoes on. 
" Put off thy shoes from off thy feet ; for the place 
whereon thou standest is holy ground :" this scrip- 
tural command seems to be the basis of the custom 
of the Moslems. Furnished with slippers, I made my 
way into this celebrated mosque of alabaster. The 
floor was covered with mats. There were no seats. 
The only things I saw in it were lamps, and a small 
pulpit ascended by a row of steps. From the pulpit, 
at stated times, the Moslem preacher explains the 
Koran, and exhorts the people not to become infidels. 
But I saw in this mosque the likeness of nothing in 
heaven, on the earth, or under the earth. In this re- 
spect the mosques stand in striking contrast with the 
churches of Europe and the Orient, in which all kinds 
of paintings and statuary are found. Of course I gave 
the Moslem officers some backshish. Backshish will 
give you admission anywhere, I suppose. This mosque 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



S3 



was built by Mohammed Ali ; it stands on high ground 
on the southeast extremity of the city. From a plat- 
form near this mosque I had a magnificent view of 
Cairo and of the country around. Just below me to 
the northwest lay the city with its closely-built houses, 
of the color of unburnt brick, and numerous mosques 
and minarets. The city is said to contain four hundred 
mosques. To the west was seen the green-looking 
Nile, while in the southwest stood the Pyramids of 
Gizeh ; still farther towards the south, the Pyramids of 
Dashoor. 

In coming down from the mosque of the citadel 
we met a funeral procession. The corpse in a coffin 
bearing an Arabic inscription, placed upon a bier, 
was borne upon the shoulders ; men chanting pre- 
ceded the corpse, while females in black, and veiled, 
followed after. 

In the afternoon I hired a donkey and guide to take 
me to the bankers, Tod, Rathbone & Co., and to the 
American vice-consul's. The donkey driver, who was 
also my guide, led me a strange way. He went through 
one narrow street after another, turned corner after 
corner, as nobody but a donkey driver can, and at 
length stopped at a miserable-looking, out-of-the-way 
place. I felt annoyed to think he had brought me to 
such a place as this, just as if it was possible that a 
celebrated banker might do business in such a quarter 
as this. I expressed myself in a vexed tone, asking 
the driver why he had brought me to such a place as 
that. He quickly and sharply replied to my impatient 
tone by pointing me to the sign, Tod, Rathbone & Co. 
I read it ; seeing was believing. I was never more 
astonished in my life. And yet these bankers are said 



8 4 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



to be wealthy. From this place I directed my driver 
to take me to the vice-consul's. He made his inquiries 
as he went along, and had to retrace his steps ; after hav- 
ing turned I know not how many corners, he stopped, 
and pointed to a door. I was alarmed; for who 
could think that the vice-consul of the great Western 
republic resided in such a place as this ? I stepped 
up cautiously to the door and saw over it the arms of 
the United States. Not till then did I venture in, but 
I found no officer there. An American gentleman, 
who went to Tod, Rathbone & Co., told me that he 
made his guide stop two or three times, for he was 
afraid of being murdered in such a place. 

During the afternoon there was a slight fall of rain; 
but for a great part of the year rain is not known here. 
There had been a hard rain at Alexandria some days 
before ; but this shower at Cairo was all the rain that 
I witnessed while in Egypt. 

Next morning I started with two donkeys and a 
driver — the driver rode one of the donkeys — for the 
Pyramids of Gizeh. We passed along groves of cactus- 
trees, which yield an edible fruit resembling in ap- 
pearance a banana. At Old Cairo my driver bought 
candles to light us into the interior of the Pyramid of 
Cheops. We crossed the Nile in a ferry-boat, just 
above the Nilometer, which stands at the south end of 
the island Rhoda ; the charge for ferrying us over and 
back was three shillings. We then passed along the 
borders of the town Gizeh ; we found an excellent car- 
riage-road leading from the town to the pyramids. It 
was built by the Pasha about a year previous, and rises 
above the inundations of the Nile. Both sides of it 
are planted with acacia-trees, which the natives were 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



§5 



watering. The distance from Cairo to the pyramids 
is about ten miles, and they are about six from Gizeh. 
The first pyramid to which we came was that of 
Cheops, standing on the border of the desert, at an 
elevation perhaps of thirty or forty feet above the fer- 
tile plain. The second pyramid, that of Chephren, and 
the third, that of Mycerinus, stand farther back in the 
desert. We found a crowd of natives at the foot of the 
great pyramid. We made a bargain with a Bedouin 
sheikh for two men to assist us in ascending the great 
pyramid. Two stout, barefooted Arabs assisted me, 
one of them taking me by the left hand, and the other 
by the right. The ascent is quite laborious, for there 
are no steps made for the purpose, and it is necessary 
for one to pick his way over the projections of the 
thick stones. I ascended on the north side. I found 
the top about thirty feet square, so full of inscribed 
names that I could scarcely find any vacant place 
where I could scratch the initials of mine. 

From the top of this pyramid the view was magnifi- 
cent. Before me lay spread out green, fertile Egypt, 
watered by the Nile, visible for thirty miles, and every- 
where else nothing but a vast desert of sand. Truly, 
Egypt is the gift of the Nile. What multitudes in the 
last four thousand years have gazed in wonder upon 
these monuments ! They were seen, possibly by Abra- 
ham, certainly by Joseph and Moses. Perhaps the two 
latter stood upon this very pyramid. What a vast num-. 
ber of kingdoms have risen and fallen while these have 
stood, and will stand perhaps to the end of time ! 

While on the top of the pyramid, the two Arabs who 
aided me in the ascent began to importune me for 
backshish. I had paid the sheikh four shillings, which 

8 



86 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



was to include everything ; but the two Arabs assured 
me that their portion of it would be very small. I 
grumbled, but gave them several piastres apiece. 
" You satisfy me, and I satisfy you!" exclaimed one of 
them. The descent of the pyramid is more difficult 
than the ascent. After descending, I next went inside 
of this pyramid. It has an opening on the north, and 
the passage declines at an angle of about twenty-seven 
degrees. At the end of this passage there is a very 
small chamber; from this place, climbing up the stone, 
I entered another quite small and unpleasant passage, 
leading into a central chamber. In this room I did 
not remain long, for the pent-up air was disagreeable, 
and I was glad to get again into the open air. I felt 
no inclination to ascend another pyramid. 

According to Herodotus, the largest pyramid was 
built by Cheops ; the second in size by Chephren ; 
and the third by Mycerinus, the son of Cheops. The 
opening into the interior of these pyramids is on the 
north side, making with the horizon an angle of about 
twenty-seven degrees, pointing in the direction of the 
polar star (« Draconis) four thousand years ago, when 
the star was in its lower culmination. From this cir- 
cumstance Sir John Herschel infers that the building 
of the pyramids had some connection with astronomy. 
But the pyramids could never have been built for as- 
tronomical purposes, although the direction of the 
entrance may have had some superstitious connection 
with the polar star. The building of the great pyra- 
mid, according to Herodotus, occupied twenty years ; 
one hundred thousand men were kept at work for 
three months, when they were relieved by another 
hundred thousand. The pyramids were originally 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



87 



covered with a casing of smooth stones. On the second 
pyramid a part of this casing remains. According to 
Herodotus, the stone of which the great pyramid is 
built was brought from the other side of the Nile. 
We observed that the stone is a yellow, soft sand- 
stone. 

There is no reason to doubt that the pyramids were 
built by Egyptian kings as sepulchral monuments to 
perpetuate their name and fame forever. Respecting 
the two great pyramids, Diodorus remarks : " Of the 
two kings who raised these monuments for them- 
selves, it happened that neither of them was buried in 
these pyramids. For the multitude, on account of 
what they had suffered in building them, and on ac- 
count of these kings having treated them with cruelty 
and violence, were enraged with the authors of their 
sufferings, and threatened to tear their bodies to pieces, 
and with violence to drag them from their graves. 
Accordingly, when each of them was about to die, he 
ordered his relations to bury him privately in some 
secret place."* The two large pyramids, according to 
Strabo, were reckoned among the seven wonders of 
the world. The base of these pyramids is a square, 
and the following are Wilkinson's measurements : base 
of great pyramid, seven hundred and thirty-two feet ; 
perpendicular height, four hundred and sixty feet : ac- 
cordingly, it covers more than twelve acres. The 
second pyramid is : length of base, six hundred and 
ninety feet ; perpendicular height, four hundred and 
forty-six feet nine inches. The base of third pyramid 
is three hundred and thirty-three feet ; perpendicular 



* Lib. i., cap. 64. 



88 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



height, two hundred and three feet. Wilkinson thinks 
the pyramid of Cheops was built about two thousand 
four hundred years before Christ Besides these, there 
is a considerable number of other pyramids farther up 
the Nile. 

A short distance south of the great pyramid stands 
the Sphinx, a huge figure with the head of a human 
being and the body of a lion, symbolical of the union 
of physical and intellectual power. It is almost en- 
tirely uncovered now. It is said to be cut from a 
solid rock, but I confess tha.t the head seemed to me 
to be composed of several layers of stone. The figure 
is well preserved, except that its nose is knocked off. 
" Pliny says it measured, from the belly to the highest 
point of the head, sixty-three feet ; its length was one 
hundred and forty-three feet, and the circumference 
of its head, around the forehead, one hundred and two 
feet."* There seems to me to be an exaggeration in 
this statement respecting the head, and I regret I did 
not measure it. I was not disappointed in my expec- 
tations respecting the impression of greatness that the 
pyramid would make ; on the contrary, it surpassed 
my anticipations. But seeing it once seemed to satisfy 
me. At Rome I never grew weary of seeing, again 
and again, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and the Arch 
of Titus. 

On my way back from the pyramids, I cut with a 
knife a piece of soft Nile deposit. The water had re- 
tired and left a rich, black, deep deposit, which in 
various places had cracked and separated about an 
inch and a half. The piece of soft deposit, on harden- 



* Wilkinson. 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



89 



ing, assumed a brown color. The excursion to the 
pyramids cost me about five dollars. 

The following day I hired a donkey and boy to go 
to Heliopolis, the On of Scripture. The distance is 
not more than six miles. The ride was a pleasant one 
through groves of acacia-trees. They were husking 
corn, or dhoura, a species of maize, at and near Heli- 
opolis. They had cut the stalks of corn off near the 
ground. A single obelisk, something more than six 
feet square near the base and more than sixty feet high, 
stands in the middle of the ancient ruins. This 
column of syenite is covered with Egyptian inscrip- 
tions. The town was about three-fourths of a mile by 
a half-mile, as appears from the ruins. 

The borders of the ancient town are indicated by 
banks of ruins, while the middle of the site is the 
lowest ground. I estimated the bank on the southeast 
to be twelve feet high. Some few houses are built on 
the site, and a portion is in cultivation. While exam- 
ining the ruins, the dogs came after me, and annoyed 
me a great deal. The ruins are a little north of the 
village Matarech. 

The obelisk standing in the midst of the site is 
stated by Wilkinson to belong to Osirtasen I., who 
lived about two thousand years before Christ. It is 
evident, then, that the town was in existence at that 
time. It is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis xli. 
45, where it is stated that Pharaoh gave to Joseph 
Asenath, the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On, 
for wife. The Coptic name of the town is also On. 
The Septuagint translates the name by Heliopolis. 
Herodotus speaks of the city as dedicated to the sun, 
and remarks that its inhabitants are said to be the 



9 o 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



most learned of the Egyptians.* Strabo remarks on 
Heliopolis : " It contains the Temple of the Sun, also 
the ox Mnevis, fed in an enclosure. This animal is 
considered a god by the inhabitants. Heliopolis is 
situated upon a conspicuous mound ; in front of the 
mound lie lakes that derive their stagnant waters from 
the neighboring canal. At present the city is entirely 
desolate, containing the old temple built in the Egyp- 
tian style. This temple contains many indications of 
the madness and sacrilege of Cambyses, who injured 
some parts of the sacred edifice by fire, and other 
parts by implements of iron, mutilating them and 
kindling fires around them ; in the same manner in- 
juring the obelisks, two of which that were not entirely 
spoiled were taken to Rome ; others are both there 
and in Thebes. Some that were injured by the fire 
are still standing, and others are lying down." " In 
Heliopolis we saw many large houses in which the 
priests used to live. These residences of the priests 
became, they say, in ancient times the abode of phi- 
losophers and astronomers. But this profession no 
longer exists. No one was pointed out to me there 
as presiding over this profession, but those only who 
attend to sacred matters and explain to strangers the 
things that pertain to the temples. There the houses 
of the priestsf were shown to me, and also the resi- 
dences of Plato and Eudoxus. Eudoxus accompanied 
Plato here, and they remained here with the priests 
thirteen years. "J 



* Book ii. 3, 60. 

f Moses was in all probability educated here. 
J Lib. xvii. 29. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



9 I 



Of the arrangement of the temples, Strabo speaks 
as follows : " At the entrance into the sacred enclo- 
sure, the ground is paved with stone for about a hun- 
dred feet or less in width, and three or four hundred 
feet or more in length. This is called the dromos 
(course). This dromos, as Callimachus has told us, 
is sacred to Anubis. Through the whole length, on 
both sides of the pavement, is placed a row of stone 
sphinxes, thirty feet or more distant from each other, 
so that there is one row of sphinxes on the right hand, 
and another on the left. After the sphinxes is a large 
propylon ; then, as you advance, another propylon, 
then another. There is no definite number either of 
the propylsea or of the sphinxes. They differ in 
different temples, as do the length and breadth of the 
courses. After the propylsea, the temple has a large 
and remarkable portico, and adytum in proportion, 
but no statue, at least no human figure, but that of 
some irrational animal."* 

At present the country around Heliopolis is as high 
x as that on which the city stood ; so that it is evident 
that the country around has been elevated by the 
deposits from the Nile. Now it is clear, from the 
language of Strabo, that the mound on which Heli- 
opolis was built was probably twenty or thirty feet 
high, for he applies to it the word remarkable [axio- 
logos), and it is certain that Strabo visited the place, 
for he speaks of certain things there as pointed out to 
him. Lyell must have been ignorant of these facts 
when he wrote the following: "The mean annual 
thickness of a layer [of deposit] at Cairo cannot ex- 



* Lib. xvii. 28. 



9 2 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



ceed that of a sheet of thin pasteboard, and a stratum 
of two or three feet must represent the accumulations 
of a thousand years."* But nineteen hundred years 
have not yet elapsed since Strabo wrote, and the 
probability is that near Heliopolis, about six miles 
from Cairo, the deposit has averaged ten or twelve feet 
in a thousand years. 

But further, it is obvious that the rate of deposit 
would not be uniform, for where the Nile water stands 
the deepest in its overflowings, there the deposit will 
be the thickest ; and in ancient times the rate of 
deposit may have been greater than what it is at 
present. 

Not far from Heliopolis, a short distance from the 
road on the left, I visited, on my return to Cairo, the 
sycamore-tree under which tradition says Joseph and 
Mary rested with the infant Saviour during the flight 
into Egypt. It is a large, double tree ; in one direction 
eight feet in diameter. It looks very old. 

I observed while on the journey that the Arab boy 
who was my guide was eating. I reminded him that 
it was the fast of the Ramadan. He replied, " One 
little boy eat." I observed this peculiarity in the Eng- 
lish that he spoke, he used " too" for " very." In going 
to Heliopolis, he said it was " too far" ; I construed 
this into a reluctance to go there. I found the same 
word used by an Arab at Jerusalem, who was very 
well acquainted with English. In short, this word 
" too" for " very" is quite common among the Arabs 
that speak English. 

On our way back to Cairo I saw, not far from the 



* "Principles of Geology," p. 262. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



93 



city, two Mohammedans engaged in their devotions. 
Mats were spread upon the ground, upon which they 
bowed down and repeatedly touched them with their 
faces ; then they would rise and stand erect, and look 
as if they were taking sight at something, apparently 
in the direction of Mecca, then they would go again 
through the same ceremony of touching the mat with 
their faces. I watched them for some time ; how long 
they continued the ceremony I know not. 

Next morning I started about 9 o'clock for Sak- 
khara and the ruins of Memphis. A dragoman had en- 
gaged for me on the previous evening two donkeys 
and a guide. He was to come before sun-up, but dis- 
appointed me, so that I was compelled to make another 
arrangement. After considerable difficulty in bargain- 
ing for donkeys, I fell into the hands of a one-eyed 
Arab, who undertook to go with me on foot; but 
finding that this would be tedious and wearisome, he 
went back and got another donkey. We passed by 
the palace of the Pasha on our right, and through Old 
Cairo. Here my Arab guide bought candles for the 
examination of the dark chambers at Sakkhara. We 
rode along the east bank of the Nile ; the road was 
rough. We crossed the Nile seven or eight miles 
above Cairo. At this place the river is about two- 
thirds of a mile wide, I should judge. 

We had a difficulty with the boatmen about the price. 
My Arab guide was rather quarrelsome, and although 
he kept carefully the fast of the Ramadan he could 
curse most bitterly. After we had got the donkeys 
into the boat, — which is not always an easy task, as 
these boats were never intended for ferry-boats, — my 
Arab guide jumped into another boat and shook the 



94 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



boatman on account of some disagreement ; for they 
quarreled fearfully, and it seemed they would have a 
fight at all hazards. He took the donkeys out of the 
boat and put them into another. We paid about a 
dollar to be ferried over and back. These ferry-boats 
have one sail, and also oars. After crossing the Nile 
we passed through several groves of palm-trees. These 
trees are beautiful. For thirty, forty, or fifty feet they 
are straight and entirely free from branches. At the 
top of this trunk long, wide leaves, beautifully curving 
downwards, branch off like the ribs of an umbrella in 
every direction, fifteen or twenty feet long. The dates, 
of those that bear, form a cluster at the end of the 
trunk, whence the leaves diverge. 

We traveled along the railroad that is built from Cairo 
to Minieh a distance of one hundred and thirty miles. 
The road at that time was not used, as it was out of 
order. As we passed along, we observed encampments 
of Bedouins. They had flocks of sheep and goats, and 
kept chickens, and cultivated some ground ; they live 
in small, plain, rough tents, and generally have a guard 
of dogs. In one instance, two large dogs came out 
from a tent a considerable distance from us ; they 
barked at us with apparent dignity, and then retired 
gracefully. A Bedouin boy called after us; I asked my 
guide what the boy wanted; he replied, "backshish," 
and between us and that boy there was a canal of 
water. At a distance of about fourteen or fifteen 
miles from Cairo we came upon the borders of the 
ancient Memphis, at Bedreshayn, a small village. Be- 
tween this place and Sakkhara, about three miles west, 
on the borders of the desert, the city of Memphis was 
situated, though it may have extended six or seven 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



95 



miles along the Nile. We rode across the ruins, 
consisting principally of banks of rubbish ; we saw 
some rough pieces of statuary. The most interesting 
remains were buried under the high water of the Nile. 
About a mile or less from the Nile, on the western 
border of the ruins, we passed the modern village of 
Mitrahenny. 

Memphis is said to have been built by Menes, the 
first king of Egypt, who reigned probably about 
two thousand seven hundred years before Christ. He- 
rodotus* tells us that the Nile once flowed along be- 
tween the present village of Mitrahenny and the range 
of hills in the desert about two miles west. By extend- 
ing a bank or dyke across the river about eleven and 
a half miles above Memphis, he turned the Nile far- 
ther east, where it now flows. Diodorus Siculusf 
states that the circumference of Memphis was one 
hundred and fifty stadia, about seventeen miles. This 
number, it is true, may be an exaggeration. He calls 
it " the most splendid of Egyptian cities." The same 
historian tells us that as Memphis increased in splen- 
dor Thebes declined ; but that Memphis continued to 
thrive till Alexander the Great founded Alexandria. 
Strabot speaks of Memphis as a large and well-watered 
city, the next in importance after Alexandria, and as 
the capital of Egypt. This historian also states that 
the pyramids are forty stadia, § nearly five miles, from 
Memphis. This corresponds very well with the present 
site of Memphis. Memphis was one of the capitals 
of Lower Egypt in the days of Moses. " The ancient 



* Book ii. 99. 
% Lib. xvii. 32. 



f Lib. i. 50. He visited Egypt about B.C. 40. 
\ Lib. xvii. 33. 



9 6 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



hieroglyphic name is read mam-phtah, the place of 
Phtah or Vulcan," for Vulcan had a splendid temple 
here. " Memphis is styled in Coptic Men", Momf, and 
Menf." (Wilkinson.) The first place in the Bible 
where Memphis is called by name is Hosea ix. 6. 
" Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis (Moph) shall 
bury them." The city is named in the following pas- 
sages also : " The princes of Noph (that is Memphis) 
are deceived." — Isa. xix. 13. "Publish in Noph and 
Tahpanhes ;" " The sword shall devour round about 
thee ;" " Noph shall be waste and desolate without 
inhabitant." — Jer. xlvi. 14, 19. " The princes of Noph 
and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head." — 
Jer. ii. 16. "I will also destroy the idols, and I will 
cause their images to cease out of Noph ; there shall 
be no more a prince of the land of Egypt ;" " Noph 
shall have distresses daily." — Ezek. xxx. 13, 16. 

When Cairo was built in the tenth century, the de- 
cline of Memphis must have been very rapid. In the 
thirteenth century many splendid ruins were still there. 

From the ruins of Memphis I rode over a field and 
then on a causeway across the lowlands and the canal, 
where the Nile once flowed, to the hills of Sakkhara. 
Crossing over the top of the hill, we entered deep ex- 
cavated chambers called the Serapeum, one of the most 
beautiful temples of Egypt. The walls are adorned 
with the most beautiful figures in bas-relief, represent- 
ing their divinities and the various offices of Egyptian 
life. One picture we observed represents the Egyp- 
tians killing a cow or an ox. The figures are remark- 
ably clear and fresh ; some of them white, and others 
red. On account of my disappointment of an early 
start, I had but little time to devote to these figures. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



97 



To this temple of Serapis Strabo alludes as being 
situated in a very sandy place, and implies that it is 
not far from Memphis. Near the Serapeum is a paved 
road, on each side of which are figures of lions about 
eight feet high, some of them surmounted by figures 
of boys. 

Not far from this is the Apis cemetery. " It consists 
of an arched gallery hewn in the rock, about twenty 
feet in height and breadth, and two thousand feet in 
length. On both sides are deep recesses, each con- 
taining a very large sarcophagus of granite, measuring 
twelve feet five inches by seven feet six and a half 
inches, and seven feet eight inches high. Each Apis 
is styled ' Apis Osiris.' Of these huge sarcophagi, 
twenty-four are still in situ." With a guide and candles, 
we passed around these sarcophagi in the underground 
gallery in the form of a horseshoe, not without some 
fear of poisonous air. The place was exceedingly un- 
pleasant. We came out where we entered. We paid 
the sheikh in charge of these places two shillings. 
The entrance to these Apis pits, or " Bull Pits," as 
they are vulgarly called, is kept locked. 

At Memphis, not more than three miles distant from 
this cemetery, Apis was worshiped. " Apis," says 
Strabo, " is the same as Osiris." Osiris was the great 
divinity in Egypt, and Diodorus tells us that the wor- 
ship of Apis arose in the idea that the soul of Osiris 
migrated into this animal, and that through him Osiris 
continued to manifest himself to man through succes- 
sive ages. Apis, says Strabo, has a white spot in his fore- 
head, and some white spots on other parts of the body; 
but the rest of the body is black. By these marks they 
always distinguish the successor to the deceased Apis. 

9 



9 8 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



While examining some of the interesting objects at 
Sakkhara, my Arab guide hurried me away with the 
remark, expressed with a great deal of earnestness, 
" There is no time." 

One of the Arabs from the Apis cemetery followed 
me, keeping close to my side for * several hundred 
yards, demanding backshish ; I gave him none, how- 
ever, and my Arab guide applied to him an epithet I 
do not care to repeat. 

As we approached the Nile on our return, the sun 
set. On entering the ferry-boat, my Arab guide ex- 
claimed, " I have finished !" He meant that his fast 
for that day was ended. I gave him some money to 
get coffee ; he looked at it, and exclaimed, " It is not 
enough!" I increased it. Our boatmen had hard work 
in rowing us over, for it w r as a dead calm, and the sails 
were of no use. Our rowers were a man and a small 
boy ; they rowed hard, and chanted words that I did 
not understand. On reaching the other side, while 
my guide was drinking his coffee and smoking his 
tobacco, the Arabs importuned me for backshish. I 
turned the tables upon them completely, for I took 
off my hat and went around among them crying, 
" Backshish ! backshish ! backshish !" This amused 
them and stopped their demand. 

If there is one word in the Arabic vocabulary that 
the traveler in Egypt hates more than another it is 
" backshish." When you have paid for services ren- 
dered, " backshish" must be given in addition. If no 
services are rendered, it is " backshish." In short, it 
is " backshish" day in and day out. When I was at 
Heliopolis, it was " backshish" there ; when at the 
sycamore, near there, "backshish" was asked there. 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



99 



It was night before we entered Cairo. As we 
passed through the city we saw the Arabs feasting. 
Their fast for the day was over, and the night was 
to be spent in drinking coffee and in smoking. My 
guide directed my attention to a room in which 
there was an Arab dance. We observed that the 
minarets of the mosques were lit up. Before reaching 
my hotel, the donkey which I was riding laid himself 
down in the street; I left him, and the driver had diffi- 
culty in getting him up. The donkey had fallen down 
with me near the Nile while returning, where the 
ground was perfectly smooth ; but the Arab explained 
it by trying to make it appear that the road was very 
rough. He felt it to be necessary to vindicate his 
donkey at all hazards, inasmuch as he gained his live- 
lihood by his donkey ; whoever attacked his donkey's 
reputation attacked his own life. The poor animal was 
worn out ; I would gladly have given him backshish. 
My donkey, after all, was a spirited animal ; for when 
on the road the driver would strike him, he in turn 
would kick at him. I reached my hotel on foot at a 
quarter to eight p.m. About five hours were employed 
in going to Sakkhara, and the same time in returning. 

Cairo is supposed to contain about three hundred 
and fifty thousand inhabitants. According to Dio- 
dorus Siculus, Egypt had in ancient times more than 
eighteen thousand important villages, and a population 
of about seven millions, and in his time not less than 
three millions, and under Ptolemy Lagus more than 
three thousand villages were enumerated, the most of 
which were remaining in his time.* Wilkinson in his 



* b.c. 40 or 50. 



IOO 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



work on Egypt (1853) puts down the population of 
Egypt at that date at scarcely two millions. This is 
the same estimate that Lane gave of the population 
in 1835. But Wilkinson in his very recent Hand-Book 
of Egypt gives the present population at four million 
five hundred thousand, which seems to us a very large 
estimate. 

The Khedive of Egypt, for a Mohammedan despot, 
is a progressive man. He has at least five hundred 
miles of railway in Egypt. The slave-trade is for- 
bidden, but it is said to be conducted to some extent 
in secret. The Khedive is evidently introducing the 
customs of Europe. But there is no thorough system 
of education in Egypt, and the masses are in a state 
of degradation and poverty. The Suez Canal was to a 
great extent built by forced labor, whole villages being 
depopulated at the order of the Khedive to work upon 
the canal. 

I left Cairo at nine a.m., December 1 1, by railroad for 
Suez, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles 
by the present railway ; the fare was about four dollars 
for a second-class ticket. 

We passed through Zagazig, near Bubastis, the Pi- 
Beseth of Scripture, in the land of Goshen. Near 
Zagazig we saw Arab houses covered with corn- 
stalks. From Zagazig the railroad runs along the 
canal cut from the Nile to Suez. The railroad direct 
from Cairo to Suez had been abandoned a year or two 
before, as not working well in a region where there 
was no water. Four or five miles from Zagazig we 
entered upon the desert which continues all the way to 
Suez. On our right, however, we had a narrow strip 
of green, cultivated land, watered by the canal and 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



101 



redeemed from the desert, extending most of the way 
to Suez. As we passed along we saw in the south- 
west the Pyramid of Cheops disappear as a dark spot 
in the horizon at a distance of thirty miles or more. 
We stopped a short time at Ismailia, a town on the 
Suez Canal, and reached Suez about seven o'clock in 
the evening. I stopped at the French Hotel, where I 
paid about three dollars a day. 



9* 



102 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



CHAPTER IV. 

Red Sea.— « Wilderness."— The Mirage. — A Visit to the "Wells of 
Moses." — Expedition to the Southern Extremity of Ghebel Attaka. — 
The Recession of the Red Sea. — The Passage of the Israelites. — 
A Critical Discussion of the Place of Passage. — Departure for Is- 
mailia. — The Suez Canal. — Port Said. — Difficulty with a French- 
woman. — From Port Said to Joppa. — First sight of Palestine. — 
Landing at Joppa. — A Description of Joppa. — Departure for Jerusa- 
lem. — Ramleh. — Incidents by the Way. — Arrival in the Holy City. 

The next morning after my arrival, Sunday, I read 
carefully and examined the exodus of the Israelites. 
The narrative of the exodus, read upon the spot, had 
peculiar force and made a strange impression. It 
seemed to bear the stamp of truth. But when I saw 
at the Red Sea the vast tract of desolation extending 
as far as the eye could reach, I felt the feebleness of 
the English word " wilderness," by which our version 
renders the Hebrew midhbar y desert, desolation, death. 
Rightly is it called in Deuteronomy, " that great and 
terrible desert." 

On the Sunday forenoon I heard a very able sermon 
from Rev. Thomas Forbes, A.M., of the National Church 
of Scotland. He had been pastor of the English 
Chapel at Suez for more than two years. He is a 
cousin of the celebrated natural philosopher, Edward 
Forbes. The writer of this preached in the English 
Chapel at night. Here I made the acquaintance of 
Mr. William Andrews, agent of the Peninsular and 
Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Mr. Andrews 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



103 



is a very intelligent gentleman and earnest Christian. 
He presented me with a large map of Egypt recently 
executed. Here, too, I met with Captain Palmer and 
Charles Drake, explorers, on their way to Petra. 

Suez is an old Arab town, in no respect attractive. 
Of late, it has become a place of some importance on 
account of the Suez Canal, and has some respectable- 
looking houses. The population has been put down 
at seventeen thousand, but I can scarcely think it to 
be ten thousand. The climate, in winter, is most de- 
lightful ; the sky is exceedingly brilliant, and we may 
say that it never rains there. Remote objects appear 
very near. Ghebel Attaka appeared to be a mile off, 
or more, but I found by triangulation that the real 
distance was ten and a half miles. Near Suez I saw 
for the first time the mirage, the delusive appearance 
of water in the desert. To this phenomenon Isaiah 
beautifully alludes when he says : "And the parched 
ground (s/iarab, the mirage) shall become a lake" 
(xxxv. 7), a glorious reality. Mohammed refers to 
this in the twenty-fourth chapter of the Koran : " But 
as to the unbelievers, their works are like the vapor 
in a plain (serab, mirage), which the thirsty traveler 
thinketh to be water, until, when he cometh thereto, 
he findeth it to be nothing." 

No better place can be found for consumptives than 
Suez in the winter season, but in summer the heat is 
exhausting. In Alexandria, Dec. 4, 3 p.m., the ther- 
mometer stood at 76 ; Dec. 5, 2 p.m., 78 . On the 
6th, 2 p.m., about thirty miles north of Cairo, it stood 
at 73 %°> At Suez, Dec. 12, 3 p.m., then 72^° ; Dec. 
16, 8 a.m., ther. 56 . Red Sea, Dec. 15, about the 
middle of the afternoon, ther. 72 . 



104 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



My object in going to Suez was to ascertain, if 
possible, the place where the Israelites crossed the 
Red Sea, and, if practicable, also to go to Mount Sinai. 
On Monday afternoon I made hasty arrangements to 
go in an open boat down the Red Sea to Tur, with 
the intention of taking camels thence to Sinai, and to 
return with camels across the desert to Suez. There 
were a few Russian pilgrims in the boat ; but as the 
boat did not start that afternoon, I got out of the boat 
and out of the doubtful undertaking at the same 
time. 

Next day the Rev. Mr. Forbes and myself procured 
donkeys and a boat to visit the Wells of Moses, on 
the east side of the Red Sea. Crossing over in a 
boat, we then rode the donkeys through the sandy 
desert to these wells, a distance of four or five miles 
from where we landed. The one most distant from 
Suez is surrounded by a wall about five feet high and 
twenty-five feet in diameter. The water is not deep, 
and rushes are growing in it. A considerable stream 
issues from it. Forty yards north of this is another 
fountain, near a solitary old palm-tree. Three hun- 
dred and fifty yards northwest of this is the first of 
six inclosed gardens, containing houses, wells of water, 
palm-trees, tamarisks, pomegranates, and a few olive- 
trees. This first garden, the most southern, contains 
two wells and three houses, one of which was occupied 
by De Costa in the winter season. The second garden 
has four wells inside, and one outside, on the east. 
The third garden lies to the east of a straight line 
uniting the other gardens. It contains two old wells, 
re-dug. The fourth garden has two wells and a French 
hotel. The fifth garden has three wells, and between 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



105 



the fifth and sixth garden is a well. The sixth garden 
has four wells, two of them large and deep. These 
gardens and wells are truly an oasis in the desert. The 
water, however, is brackish and scarcely fit to drink. 
The desert was hot, and in returning I found my 
mouth becoming dry. 

On the following day Rev. Mr. Forbes and myself 
went in a sail-boat with two Arabs, down the Red Sea 
to the southern point of Ghebel Attaka on the Egyp- 
tian side of the sea, some twenty-five miles below Suez, 
to ascertain if the Israelites could have crossed the 
Red Sea in that region below Suez. We reached this 
point about sunset. The Bedouins on this side of the 
sea are savage, having never been subdued. One of 
our boatmen seemed greatly alarmed at the idea of 
our going there, declaring that the Bedouins were con- 
cealed behind the rocks. 

We went ashore fully armed. Rev. Mr. Forbes had 
Colt's revolving rifle, with six barrels ; besides this he 
had a revolver, and he gave me his double-barreled 
gun. This was the only instance in which I was 
armed in all my travels. We left one of the Arabs 
in charge of the boat and took the other with us. 
The water was too shallow to allow the boat to come 
to land, so that the Rev. Mr. Forbes and myself were 
carried ashore upon the shoulders of the Arabs. 

After reaching the land, we started for the southern 
point of Ghebel Attaka, a distance of about a mile 
and a half. In walking over the plain between the 
sea and this point, we saw shells and other indications 
that the sea was once there. Mr. Forbes saw in the 
sand tracks of a hyena. We saw a few Arabs in the 
distance. Ascending the southern point of Ghebel 



106 A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 

Attaka, we had quite an extensive view of the region 
around. In the direction of Cairo there was a suc- 
cession of hills of about the same height as the one 
on which we stood. I was the first American, as far 
as I know, that ever stood upon this point. We saw 
no suitable place for the crossing of the Israelites in 
this region, unless it was the route from Cairo by 
Wady Tawarik, just south of where we stood. But 
they never could have come that way. In returning 
to our boat in the night we saw the camp-fires of the 
Bedouins, but they did not attack us. When we 
entered our boat it was a dead calm, but in the course 
of an hour or more the wind arose and blew in squalls 
or gusts, that made us apprehensive that our boat 
might be capsized. About a year before a young 
man had been drowned at Suez by the capsizing of a 
sail-boat. In seas adjacent to mountains there is 
always danger of squalls of wind. We had no confi- 
dence in the skill of our boatmen, and we compelled 
them, much against their will, to loosen the cord 
attached to the sail, for the idea of being drowned in 
the Red Sea, Pharaoh-like, was not very pleasant. 
We reached Suez one o'clock next morning. In this 
expedition I lost my thermometer. 

In determining where it is likely that the Israelites 
crossed the Red Sea, it must first of all be observed 
that in all probability the Red Sea has receded from 
the land since the days of Moses. We have already 
remarked that we observed twenty-five miles below 
Suez indications that the sea was once higher than it 
now is. Far up above the present head of the Red 
Sea deep, salt-beds and shells are found, showing that 
the sea was once there. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



107 



In the time of Moses it is probable that the sea ex- 
tended twenty-five miles farther up than it now does, 
to the Bitter Lakes, 

Below Suez, immediately north of Ghebel Attaka, 
are deep gullies, rendering that way impassable. It is 
true we cannot prove that those gullies existed in the 
time of Moses ; but since rain is rare in that locality, 
the probability is that these gullies are as old as the 
Mosaic period. 

Josephus remarks that the Israelites " took their 
journey by Letopolis, a place at that time deserted, but 
where Babylon was built afterwards, when Cambyses 
subdued Egypt." Now, this Babylon was situated 
where Old Cairo stands at present, about a mile south 
of Cairo, opposite to Gizeh, and about thirteen or four- 
teen miles north of Memphis, which at that time was 
one of the capitals of Lower Egypt. The historian of 
the Jews further remarks that the Egyptians " also 
seized on the passages by which they imagined the 
Hebrews might fly, shutting them up between inac- 
cessible precipices and the sea ; for there was on each 
side a ridge of mountains that terminated at the 
sea, which were impassable by reason of their rough- 
ness, and obstructed their flight ; wherefore they there 
pressed upon the Hebrews with their army, where the 
mountains were closed with the sea, which army they 
placed at the chops of the mountains, that so they 
might deprive them of any passage into the plain."* 
From this it would appear that Josephus supposed the 
Israelites passed to the Red Sea by the route that leads 
through Wady Tawarik, south of Ghebel Attaka and 



* Book ii., chap. 15. 



io8 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



north of Ghebel Deraj, about thirty miles below Suez. 
But there are insurmountable difficulties in this view. 

It is generally conceded that the land of Goshen 
where the Israelites dwelt was between the eastern 
branch of the Nile, the Pelusiac, and the Red Sea. 
The Septuagint,* which is of considerable authority 
in Egyptian localities, renders Goshen by " Gesem in 
Arabia." — Gen. xlvi. 34. At the time of Christ the 
Greeks called that part of Egypt east of the Nile 
Arabia ; for Strabo says, " the tract of country be- 
tween the Nile and the Arabian Gulf (Red Sea) is 
Arabia, and at its extremity Pelusium is situated. "f 

It is evident, from Genesis xiii. 17, that the land in 
which the children of Israel dwelt was near the Isthmus 
of Suez, for it is there said that it was near the " way 
of the land of the Philistines." 

The children of Israel began their march from 
Rameses. But it is difficult to fix the position of this 
town; yet it would seem probable that it must be 
located either at Bebeys or at some place north of it. 
Their next halting-place was Succoth. Of this we 
know nothing. The third day's journey brought them 
to " Etham, in the edge of the wilderness" (desert). 
It is true we do not know what were the borders of 
the desert at the time of the Exodus, for its limits 
have been subject to great changes, yet it is evident 
that the desert alluded to is the one that extends from 
the Isthmus of Suez to Judea and the Dead Sea ; for it 
is said in Numbers xxxiii. 8, the}- "went three days' 
journey in the wilderness of Etham." This Etham 



* The Pentateuch was translated about B.C. 2S0. 
-j- Lib. xvii. 21. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



109 



must have been somewhere near the Isthmus of Suez. 
Here the Israelites were ordered to turn and encamp 
before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over 
against Baal-Zephon. " For Pharaoh will say of the 
children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the 
wilderness hath shut them in." It is evident then that 
the route of the Israelites was first in a direct way until 
they reached Etham, in the border of the desert; but 
instead of continuing through the desert to the land 
of the Philistines, they were ordered to change their 
course and to move down to Pi-hahiroth, on the side 
of the sea. This movement led Pharaoh to believe 
that they were afraid to cross the terrible desert, 
and that in their bewilderment they had taken this 
course. The name " Pi-hahiroth," according to Gesen- 
ius and Fiirst, following Jablonsky, means " a place 
where sedge grows." It is impossible to fix its loca- 
tion. But the other two places, Migdol and Baal- 
Zephon, may be fixed with some probability. On the 
west side of the head of the Red Sea, about half a 
mile above Suez, is a hill about thirty feet high, on 
which are found shells and the remains of pottery. 
The name of this place is " Tell-kolzum" : the Clysma 
of the Greeks. Clysma means washed by the sea. A 
town or village was once situated on this hill, and when 
the Red Sea extended up twenty-five miles farther, 
this place must have been an island. We think it 
very likely that this place is Baal-Zephon. This word 
has been regarded as Coptic, meaning place of Typhon, 
the Evil Being of the Egyptian mythology ; but it is 
probably Phoenician, for there are no Coptic words in 
Scripture of this form, while there are many Hebrew 
and Phoenician words in which Baal forms the first 



HO A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 

part, as : Baal-Hermon. Baal-Zephon may mean 
Baal's observatory; Zephon, from tsapliali, to observe, to 
spy. Migdol means, in Hebrew, tower ox castle ; but 
if the word were Coptic, it would be the place of many 
hills ; but no such locality of many hills is to be found 
near Suez, nor does the description suit Ghebel Attaka. 
Herodotus* speaks of a Magdolus near the Isthmus of 
Suez ; the Septuagint has the same word for Migdol, 
(except that the o is long,) where Necho, king of 
Egypt, met by land the Syrians and defeated them. 
There is nothing improbable in the supposition that 
the Phoenicians built and named places on the borders 
of the Red Sea. Migdol is mentioned Jeremiah xliv. 
i,xlvi. 14. It is clear, from Ezekiel xxix. 10, xxx. 6, 
that Migdol lay on the north or northeast of Egypt, 
so that it was regarded as a border town of the 
Hebrews. " I will make the land of Egypt utterly 
waste from Migdol to Syene." " From Migdol to 
Syene they shall fall in it by the sword." In both of 
these passages from Ezekiel the English version is 
erroneous. 

As the Israelites were ordered to encamp between 
Migdol and the sea, and since this place was situated 
somewhere near the north end of the Red Sea, it is 
clear that the passage took place near this north end. 
But it is difficult to fix the site of Migdol. About a 
mile and a half west of Tell-kolzum, which may be 
Baal-Zephon, there is an old fort with several wells ; 
this may be the Migdol (Fort) of Moses, between 
which and the sea the Israelites encamped. It is, 
however, more probable that Migdol was somewhat 



Book ii. 159. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Ill 



farther up towards the Mediterranean Sea, as Necho 
met the Syrians there. 

To drown Pharaoh and his host it was not neces- 
sary that the sea should be more than three or four 
miles wide, perhaps not that. The Israelites crossed 
the sea in a single night. Two millions of human 
beings or more could not have crossed in that time 
unless the line of march had been at least a hundred 
yards in breadth. Pharaoh's chariots, six hundred in 
number, even all the chariots of Egypt, and his army, 
followed after them. His chariots most likely ad- 
vanced five or ten abreast to fill up the whole space 
between the walls of the sea. In this case the line of 
chariots would not have been longer than half a mile. 
In fact, a sea a single mile in breadth might have 
sufficed to drown the whole host of Pharaoh. 

Respecting the means by which the drying up of 
the Red Sea was effected, the sacred history informs 
us that " the Lord caused the sea to go back by a 
strong east wind all that night." It is stated that 
" the waters were divided," and " were a wall unto 
them on their right hand and on their left." The tide 
at the Red Sea rises six or seven feet. A strong south 
wind might increase it two feet, and a north wind 
diminish it the same number of feet; but an east 
wind could produce no such effect. In the hands of 
the Almighty, blowing in a narrow current, it opened 
the sea for the people of God. 

All through the Old Testament history reference is 
made to the miraculous passage of the Red Sea, and 
there is no natural explanation to be given of the 
phenomena as narrated in Exodus. It is true, if the 
narrative of the exodus had been written long after 



112 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



the age of Moses, we could easily believe that a 
natural occurrence had been dressed up as super- 
natural. But a careful study of the original language, 
and of the contents of the Pentateuch, assures us that 
the work, with the exception of a few explanatory 
passages, was written by Moses. The great Hebraist, 
Roediger, whose tendencies are rationalistic, remarks : 
" The point of commencement of the literature of the 
Hebrews must certainly be fixed as early as the time 
of Moses, even though we should regard the Penta- 
teuch, in its present structure and form, as modeled 
by a later hand."* But apart from the impossibility of 
explaining the recorded facts in a natural way, the 
supposition that Pharaoh and his host should be 
drowned in the Red Sea, while the Israelites through 
their superior knowledge of the tides and winds should 
escape, is incredible. 

But, further, the naturalistic explanation is useless, 
unless it can explain all the facts of the Bible. Since 
we are compelled to recognize the hand of God in the 
history of Israel, nothing is gained by dispensing with 
that overruling hand in particular instances. 

Memphis was the capital of Lower Egypt in the 
time of Moses. Yet it seems that Zoan, or Tanis, — 
situated on the eastern side of the Tanitic branch of 
the Nile, and very near to the land of Goshen, — was 
also one of the capitals of Lower Egypt at that time ; 
at least, Pharaoh held his court there. And this might 
have been done for the convenience of the king's sub- 
jects, as being more central than Memphis. In Psalm 
Ixxviii. 12 the miracles wrought by Moses are said 



* Roediger's Gesenius's Hebrew Grammar, p. 9. 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



113 



to have been done near this town. " Marvellous things 
did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, 
in the field of Zoan." Several passages of the Old 
Testament speak of Zoan as the capital of Egypt. 
"Surely the princes of Zoan are fools," Isa. xix. 11. 
" His princes were at Zoan," Isa. xxx. 4. In Isaiah 
xix. 13 it is coupled with Memphis: "The princes 
of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph (Mem- 
phis) are deceived." At the time of Christ, it was 
still an important place, for Strabo calls it a " large 
city." * This Zoan was built seven years after Hebron, 
and this great antiquity ascribed to it by Scripture is 
confirmed by its present remains. In speaking of the 
ruins of its great temple, Wilkinson remarks : " The 
temple not only bears the names of kings of the 
twelfth and of the thirteenth dynasty [2000 B.C.], it 
existed, according to M. Mariette, in the time of the 
sixth [2200 b.c.]." 

The supposition that Zoan was one of the capitals 
of Lower Egypt, at least that Pharaoh held his court 
there in the days of Moses, explains the fact that no 
mention is made of crossing the Nile ; and the facility 
with which Moses appears before Pharaoh, and the 
expedition with which Pharaoh gathers his troops to 
pursue the Israelites, would indicate that the king was 
very near the land of Goshen, and not at Memphis, 
about a hundred miles southwest of Zoan. 

In respect to the route of the Israelites, all that we 
can maintain, with any degree of certainty, is that they 
left some point in Goshen, about thirty miles west- 
ward of Etham, on the border of the desert, and that 



* Lib. xvii. 19. 
IO* 



H4 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



they crossed the upper end of the Red Sea, above 
Ghebel Attaka, probably not far from Suez. Although 
the land has risen in the region of the Red Sea, it is 
impossible to prove that the rise has taken place since 
the time of Moses, though that, I think, is probable. 
When Wilkinson speaks of having observed " on the 
Red Sea at Suez, Aboodurrag, and other places on the 
west coast, where the land, strewed with recent shells, 
is raised many feet above the reach of the highest 
seas," it is impossible to tell whether these " recent 
shells" are more recent than the time of Moses or not. 

The Red Sea is called in Hebrew Yam SupJi, Sea 
of Sedge, from the quantity of sedge that probably 
once grew on its northern shore. The present name, 
Red Sea, is as ancient as the Greek version of the 
books of Moses, B.C. 280, and was derived from the 
redness of the tract of country around it. In the re- 
gion of Suez the country is a sandy desert, without 
any fountains of water or any vegetation whatever. 
The drinking water is brought by a canal from the 
Nile, near Cairo. 

At the urgent request of Rev. Mr. Forbes,* I spent 
at his house, built over the Red Sea, the last two days 
that I remained at Suez. He and his excellent wife 
showed me every attention, and refused to receive any 
compensation. When I left, Mrs. Forbes furnished 
me with provisions for the way. 

I left Suez early on Friday morning, December 17, 
by rail for Ismailia, which I reached a little after ten 



* I regret to say that about four months after I left Egypt the Rev. 
Mr. Forbes died at Suez, of dysentery. He was a highly intellectual 
man, and a Christian gentleman, and his kindness to me can never be 
forgotten. May God bless his widow and child ! 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



115 



o'clock. This place is a small town on the canal near 
Lake Timsah, in the midst of the desert. It has 
sprung up within the last few years, and owes its ex- 
istence to the canal. At eleven o'clock, I took a 
small steamer at Ismailia, by the canal, for Port Said, 
which I reached about six o'clock p.m. The Suez 
Canal, in some places, is more than a hundred yards 
wide at top, in other places sixty yards or upwards. 
The depth varies from sixteen to twenty-six feet. 
The cost of the canal up to that time had been 
more than eighty millions of dollars. 

Port Said is built on a narrow strip of sand that ex- 
tends from Damietta to the Gulf of Pelusium, separat- 
ing the Mediterranean Sea from Lake Menzaleh. The 
population is put down by Wilkinson at ten thousand, 
which seems to us an exaggeration. It is about one 
hundred and twenty miles to the east of Alexandria. 
The town is supplied with water pumped through two 
pipes along the canal from Ismailia. I saw a consid- 
erable number of vessels in the harbor, which appeared 
to be a very good one. 

In Port Said I stopped at a hotel, the hostess of 
which was a Frenchwoman. The accommodations 
were tolerably good. Next day, in the afternoon, I 
asked for my bill, and ascertained, to my surprise, that 
it was twenty-five francs, nearly five dollars, for a sin- 
gle day. To make out this amount, she had charged 
me with the six o'clock dinner of the preceding day, 
and several other articles, and a whole day additional, 
when I had been there scarcely a day in all. I refused 
to pay such a bill as this, and went with it to the 
United States vice-consul, who told me not to pay it, 
but to offer a sum which he said was sufficient, about 



n6 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



two and a half dollars, I think. Offering her some- 
thing more than this sum, she rudely knocked the 
money out of my hand. I then picked up my trunk 
to leave, but the men in her employ caught hold of 
the trunk and shut the door. What could I do ? I 
was not a match for the whole party. I went straight 
to the United States vice-consul, who told me to pay 
the bill under protest, as he had not time to attend to 
it, being busy with the duties of his agency. I accord- 
ingly paid the amount to this French shrew, who 
seemed delighted with her ill-gotten gains ; and I 
went aboard of the French steamer, the Scamander, of 
the Messageries, lying in the harbor. We left about 
five p.m. The fare, first class, exclusive of meals, was 
thirty francs, and the accommodations most excellent. 

Sunday morning I went on deck, and casting my 
eyes eastward, I saw what seemed to be a long bank 
of clouds in the horizon ; a closer view showed it to 
be a mountain range, the back-bone of Palestine. 
About eight o'clock a.m. the ship anchored in the 
sea, two or three hundred yards from Jaffa, for the 
town has no harbor; and it is strange that a man 
like Gesenius (Heb. Lex.) should speak of its " cele- 
brated harbor." In bad weather no landing can be 
made, and the passengers are carried on to Beirut. 
No sooner had our vessel cast anchor, than she was 
boarded by a crowd of boatmen. The French cap- 
tain made short work of them, and kicked them with 
such rapidity and dexterity as to show that he was no 
novice in this business; the smallness of the captain 
made the spectacle more ridiculous. It was with 
great difficulty that I got myself and baggage aboard 
of a boat, for the boats clash against each other, and 



AXD THE HOLY LAND. 



117 



are tossed about on the waves in such a way as to 
make it dangerous to board them. I got into the 
middle of the boat and held on, and carefully kept my 
head from being broken by the surrounding boats. 
When within a short distance of the shore, our boat 
was met by porters to carry us through the surf to 
land. Selecting one of the largest of these men, I 
mounted his shoulders, and soon found myself on 
terra firma. 

On landing, I was met by a dragoman and inn- 
keeper, Herman Blattner, who conducted me to his 
establishment. The quarters were quite comfortable. 
He charged us ten shillings a day. Excellent accom- 
modations, I afterwards learned, can be obtained out- 
side of the town for about half that sum. I had not 
been in Joppa long before a dragoman offered to con- 
duct me to Jerusalem. He said that he would take 
me for four pounds, nearly twenty dollars, and furnish 
everything. At such a bait as this I would not even 
nibble. Mr. Blattner took me to see the remains of 
the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea-side. We 
next went to a cafe, where we saw thirty-five or forty 
men, all Christians, I was told, engaged in playing 
dice for coffee. A singular employment for Sunday! 
But to their credit it must be added that they had 
already been at church, as I was informed. The 
population of Jaffa, or Joppa, with the adjacent resi- 
dences, is estimated at ten thousand. An intelligent 
Greek merchant stated that the Christian population 
amounts to five thousand. They belong to the 
Roman Catholic, Greek, Armenian, and Maronite 
Churches. I saw two Armenian bishops, very large 
men, who live here. 



u8 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Jaffa is built on a hill on the coast. East of the 
town, for a considerable distance, are orange-groves 
and cactuses, interspersed with neat residences. The 
name Jaffa (Yapho) means beauty ; and its gardens cer- 
tainly are beautiful. Some of its oranges are as much 
as six inches long and four in diameter, and of fine 
flavor. The houses of Jaffa are all of stone, closely 
built together, and have flat roofs. I saw one, how- 
ever, within the walls, with a sharp roof, and one cul- 
minating in a dome. Some of these flat roofs have 
balustrades. The streets are exceedingly narrow, 
dirty, and crooked. In some places they are arched 
over. I had a good view of Joppa and the surround- 
ing country from a house-top, where I spent a portion 
of the Sunday, — meditating upon the vision that Peter 
had on the house-top, where he went to pray, and re- 
flecting upon the Providence that here revealed to 
Peter the great fact of the calling of the Gentiles to 
the privileges of the gospel. That Jaffa occupies the 
same spot now that it did in the time of the Apostles, 
is evident from a passage in Strabo : " The city is 
situated upon a hill, so high that they say that Jeru- 
salem, the metropolis of the Jews, is visible from it." 
The statement, however, that Jerusalem is visible from 
Joppa, is incorrect. He also adds : " The Jews who 
go down to the sea make special use of this port." * 
Josephus makes the following remarks on this town : 
" Now, Joppa is not naturally a haven, for it ends in a 
rough shore, where all the rest of it is straight; but 
the two ends bend towards each other, where there 
are deep precipices and great stones that jut out 



* Lib. xvii. 28. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



II 9 



into the sea. . . . The north wind opposes and beats 
upon the shore, and dashes mighty waves against the 
rocks."* 

The first mention made of Joppa is in Joshua xix. 
46 : " with the border before Japho." It was at this 
town that Jonah embarked to flee from the presence 
of the Lord. In 2 Chronicles ii. 16, Huram, king of 
Tyre, writes to Solomon : " We will cut wood out of 
Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need : and we will 
bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou 
shalt carry it up to Jerusalem." And in Ezra iii. 7 
mention is made of bringing " cedars from Lebanon 
to the sea of Joppa." These are the only passages in 
which Joppa is mentioned in the Old Testament. 

On the Sunday night the wind blew hard, and the 
following morning the Mediterranean coast was cov- 
ered with breakers. Monday was rather cloudy. 
About one p.m. I left for Ramleh, on horseback. I 
bargained with Mr. Blattner for two horses and a 
guide, to take me to Jerusalem. I paid him for them 
sixteen shillings. When he first proposed to send me 
to Jerusalem on horseback, I asked him how it was 
possible to take my trunk on horseback. He replied 
that was his concern. He strapped the trunk to one 
side of the horse, and balanced it with oranges, etc., 
put on the other. I never saw anything, provided it 
was not too large, that an Arab or a native of the 
East could not carry on a donkey, horse, or camel. 
I have seen them carry wood, stone, water, boxes, and 
I know not how many other things, upon these ani- 
mals. From Joppa to Jerusalem the road is tolerably 



* Wars, Look iii.. chap. 9. 



120 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



good, and an omnibus had been running over it; the 
fare was two dollars in summer-time, but something 
more in winter. But the omnibus had been broken 
some time before I reached Joppa. The distance from 
Joppa to Jerusalem is thirty-six miles. We passed 
along a good road, both sides of which were covered 
with orange-trees full of oranges ; then we had fig- 
trees ; to this succeeded fields of grain, flocks of cattle 
and sheep. The country is undulating and fertile. 
The soil is rather sandy, and generally red. I ob- 
served a large number of old olive-trees, and many 
birds. We passed on our left Yazur, on a hill ; then 
Beit Dejan (Beth Dagon), on ground somewhat ele- 
vated. On the right I saw Sarafend (Sariphaea), the 
houses strikingly resembling conical haystacks ; then 
passing over a hill, I saw Ramleh, — which we reached 
about four p.m., — nine miles from Joppa. It is quite a 
large town. We knocked at the door of the convent, 
and gained ready admittance. Two priests, that had 
accompanied us from Joppa, entered at the same time. 
The convent is quite large ; but I did not learn the 
number of monks in it. They assigned me a room, 
with dirt floor, in which there were two small beds. 
I retired early ; and some time afterward they knocked 
at the door, to call me to supper; but I kept my couch. 
The night was clear and the sky brilliant, for the clouds 
broke away about sunset. Next morning, about half- 
past six o'clock, after a cup of coffee, I left the con- 
vent. I gave them, before leaving, a five-franc piece. 
The day was cloudy and drizzly. The country con- 
tinued undulating and fertile until we reached El- 
Kubab, about sixteen miles from Jaffa, where high 
hills, covered with bare limestone rocks, begin. We 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



121 



passed El-Birriyah on our right, and observed farmers 
engaged in plowing. The country, all the way from 
El-Kubab to Jerusalem, is a mountainous, limestone 
region ; but where the rock is not bare the soil is very 
rich, and is covered with vegetation. Some of the 
hills were covered with olive-trees. We observed fig- 
trees, vine-stocks, and carob-trees. On a hill-side, on 
the left of our road, we saw two deer, which soon ran 
off; our guide made the sign of shooting them. Deer 
(harts, hinds) are alluded to in various parts of the 
Scriptures.* We passed several small towns, and 
watered our horses at Bir Ayub. This well of green- 
looking water was the only water we saw on the road 
to Jerusalem. While taking coffee with some Chris- 
tians on the wayside, I fell in with a Mr. Floyd, of the 
State of Maine, one of the Jaffa colonists. He in- 
formed me that only seven of these colonists remained 
at that time. At the village of Kulonieh, we observed 
the foundations of a building, apparently old. On 
approaching Jerusalem, we first saw the Russian hos- 
pice, on the right of the road, and on the left a semi- 
nary building. As the ground on which Jerusalem is 
built is not so elevated as that over which the road 
passes a mile to the northwest of the city, and, in 
addition to this, declines in the opposite direction to- 
wards the Dead Sea, we had no good view of the city 
till we entered it at the Jaffa gate. At the Jaffa gate 
we gave up our passports, which, we were told, would 
be returned to us at the office of the United States 
consul. By giving the custom-house officer some 
backshish, we had our baggage passed without ex- 



Psalm xlii. I j Isa. xxxv. 6; Gen. xlix. 21, etc. 



I 22 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



animation. Backshish is the key that unlocks every 
place in the East ; and, if a traveler has plenty of this, 
city gates and government officials are no obstructions 
to him. But we could not afford to dispense much 
of this precious article. On entering the city, about 
half-past three p.m., I went to the Prussian hospice, in 
the Via Dolorosa, not far from the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre. In descending to the hospice, the street 
was very slippery from the rain, and being quite steep, 
I dismounted for safety, and walked to the hospice. 
This hospice was kept by a German and his wife, who 
were quite attentive to their guests. The charge was 
five francs a day, including everything. The fare, of 
course, was not as good as that at the Mediterranean 
Hotel, where the charge was about ten francs ; yet it 
was good, wholesome food, but there was little variety. 
There were about half a dozen persons staying there. 
Our waiter was a black Mohammedan, from Soudan. 
He wore a turban, and showed as fine a set of ivories 
as one could wish to see. 

On the afternoon of our arrival the United States 
acting consul, Mr. John B. Hay, paid a visit to our 
hospice. He is quite a young man, well educated, had 
resided some years in Athens and in Jaffa, was well 
acquainted With the customs of the East, and was a 
most efficient and attentive consul. We regret that 
he was not appointed consul by our government. He 
showed me every attention and kindness during my 
stay in Jerusalem. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



123 



CHAPTER V. 

A Visit to the Mosques of Omar and El-Aksah. — The Remains of Solo- 
mon's Temple. — Rachel's Sepulchre. — Bethlehem. — Mount of 
Olives. — Bethany. — A Walk around Jerusalem. — The Upper and 
Lower Pools of Gihon. — En-rogel. — The Pool of Siloam. — A Visit 
to the Tombs of the Kings and Judges. — Departure for Hebron. — 
The Pools of Solomon. — Arrival in Hebron. — The Burial-Places of 
the Patriarchs. — From Hebron to Bethlehem. — Aqueduct from Solo- 
mon's Pools. — From Bethlehem through the Desert of Judea to Mar 
Saba. — From Mar Saba to the Dead Sea. — The Jordan. — New- 
Jericho. — Old Jericho. — The Howling of the Jackals. — Return to 
Jerusalem. — Religious Services on Mount Zion. — The Garden of 
Gethsemane. 

On Wednesday morning the cawass, or officer of 
our consul, in his official dress, wearing a sword, ob- 
tained a soldier, a Numidian, I believe, who seemed 
to have special charge of the Mosque of Omar, and with 
these two guards I entered the inclosure where stood 
the Temple of Solomon. To enter the inclosure 
without guards would be sure to bring upon one a 
shower of stones. We were required to pull off our 
boots before entering the sacred inclosure, and we 
walked over the stone pavement in our stockings only. 
On entering the Mosque of Omar, we observed a large 
elevated rock in the centre ; around this rock the 
guide conducted us, giving explanations as he passed 
along. One remark of his especially impressed itself 
upon my mind: "Mohammed's foot." This was an 
impression that the foot of Mohammed made upon 



124 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



the rock when he took from it his ever memorable 
night journey to heaven. The rock would have fol- 
lowed Mohammed had not the angel Gabriel checked 
it in its upward flight. This celebrated mosque was 
built by Omar, the first caliph of the name, in the 
seventh century. It is in the form of an octagon. 
Leaving this mosque, standing near the north end of the 
ground occupied by Solomon's Temple, and crossing 
over a pavement of stone, in which was a dry fountain, 
we entered the Mosque El-Aksah ; thence, descend- 
ing some steps, we entered a subterranean room, on 
the west side of which we saw some very large stones, 
— the remains, no doubt, of the Temple of Solomon. 
Paying five francs, the fixed fee, we left the site so cele- 
brated in sacred history, where stood the temple in 
which alone the true God was worshiped, and in 
which once stood and taught the Greatest of all 
teachers. 

Thursday morning, December 23, I took donkeys 
and a dragoman and paid a visit to Bethlehem, five 
miles south of Jerusalem. We went out at the Jaffa 
gate and crossed the Valley of Gihon. Close to the 
city we passed several lepers sitting by the wayside 
begging; but their looks scarcely indicated their sad 
condition. Our road ran along a ridge of land east of 
the Valley of Rephaim, a good wheat-field. This 
valley is referred to in various places of the Old Testa- 
ment. Here the Philistines encamped when about to 
attack David (2 Sam. v. 18). To this valley Isaiah 
alludes: " And it shall be as he that gathereth ears in 
the Valley of Rephaim," xvii. 5. The peasants were 
engaged in plowing and sowing in this valley. We 
passed on our left Mar Elyas, a convent. We caught 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



125 



in several places, through openings in the hills, 
glimpses of the Dead Sea. 

When about a half-mile or less from Bethlehem, we 
saw on the right of the Hebron road, where we were 
to leave it for Bethlehem, Rachel's tomb. The tomb 
is built of stone ; the length is about ten feet and the 
height about eight ; the top is oval. The tomb is cov- 
ered with inscriptions, partly in Hebrew. Over the 
tomb is a square stone building surmounted with a 
dome. Adjoining this building is an ante-room next 
to the road. A Jew had charge of these buildings. A 
little backshish gave us admission. There" is no reason 
to doubt the tradition that here rest the remains of 
Rachel. When she died Jacob was on his way to 
Hebron, " and there was but a little way to come to 
Ephrath " (Bethlehem). "And Rachel died, and was 
buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem. 
And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave : that is the 
pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day" (Gen. xxxv. 16, 
19, 20). Mention is made of Rachel's sepulchre in 
1 Samuel x. 2. It is spoken of in the Itinerary of 
Jerusalem, a.d. 333, and by Jerome, about a.d. 400. 

On reaching Bethlehem, we entered tl>e Church of 
the Nativity, which stands on the northeast edge of 
the town. This church is shared by the Roman 
Catholics, Greeks, Copts, and Armenians. I was con- 
ducted into quite a deep cave, and the place was 
pointed out to me where the infant Saviour was laid 
at his birth, — where the star that guided the Magi 
fell, — where the innocents were buried, etg. 

I was next shown the cave where St. Jerome 
studied and translated the Scriptures into Latin, and 
where he was buried. It is matter of jiistory that 

11* 



126 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Jerome, some time after the year 384, repaired to Beth- 
lehem, where he spent his days in translating the 
Scriptures and in writing various works. 

The tradition that our Saviour was born in a cave 
is as old as the middle of the second century, being 
mentioned by Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with 
Trypho the Jew, but the authority of the tradition is 
doubtful. 

The city of Bethlehem is undoubtedly the place 
where our Saviour was born ; it is now called by the 
natives Beit Lahm. It has been identified by an unin- 
terrupted tradition from the primitive Christian times. 
The town is built on a hill that rises gradually from 
Rachel's tomb. On the southeast side of the town 
the ground descends steep into the Wady Urtas, on the 
northeast is another wady, on the side of which is a 
village pointed out to us as the place where the angels 
appeared to the shepherds by night and announced 
the birth of the Messiah. The population of the town 
is about three thousand, entirely Christian. Many of 
the inhabitants are engaged in manufacturing ivory 
crosses and similar articles, which they sell to the pil- 
grims. We saw a considerable number of Russian 
pilgrims visiting the town. 

The birthplace of all great and distinguished men 
is always regarded with deep interest. But there 
never was a person born into our world who has ex- 
ercised that wide-extended and ever-increasing influ- 
ence upon the human race that our Saviour has. To 
the infidel himself the spot must be of great interest, 
for the power and extenj of Christianity are fixed facts. 
But to the Christian, to whom Christ is not only the 
greatest and best of teachers, but the incarnate Son of 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



127 



God, his personal Redeemer, how profoundly sacred is 
this place ! 

On our return to Jerusalem, as we passed by * 
Rachel's sepulchre, we heard the Jews wailing and 
praying there. In the afternoon, passing out at St. 
Stephen's gate and crossing the dry bed of the Kidron, 
we went to the Mount of Olives. On the top of this 
mountain, rising more than a hundred feet higher than 
the highest point of Jerusalem, stands the Church of 
the Ascension, a mosque, in which the Christians have 
the privilege of worshiping. We entered this edifice. 
From the top of an adjoining minaret we had a fine 
view of Jerusalem. The ground on which the city is 
built declines towards the Mount of Olives, so that 
from this point we have the most favorable view of 
the Holy City. Conspicuous among the objects of in- 
terest were the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the 
mosques of Omar and El-Aksah, the Russian hospice, 
on the northwest of the city, and still farther north- 
west, Mizpeh, on a lofty hill. On the east we saw a 
part of the Dead Sea, and beyond it the mountains 
of Moab, and in the south Herodeium, a lofty hill 
resembling a truncated cone. It was easy to see that 
the highest point of Jerusalem is the northwest. Beth- 
any was not visible, being separated from the top of 
the Mount of Olives by a hill that obstructs the view. 
We next visited this village, lying to the southeast. It 
is a small, uninteresting looking place. We were 
shown, in the lower part of it, the tomb of Lazarus, and 
of Martha and Mary. It was, perhaps, fifteen feet deep. 
A Mohammedan, who had charge of it, with lighted 
candle, led us down steps to the bottom of it. It 
seemed to us that if Lazarus had been buried here 



128 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



two miracles would have been necessary, — one to 
raise him from the dead, and the other to get him out 
. after he was raised to life. But it is not at all likely 
that the Jews would have buried w T ithin the village, 
yet it is possible that this tomb, if it is the real grave 
of Lazarus, may have been deepened since he was 
laid there. 

Bethany is called by the natives El-Aziriyeh, the 
Arabic name for Lazarus. About three hundred and 
seventy yards after leaving Bethany, by the Jericho 
road, we came in full view of nearly all Jerusalem. It 
was here that our Saviour saw the city when he wept 
over it. (Luke xix. 41-44.) We had our Bible with 
us, and read on the very spot the narrative of Luke, 
with our Saviour's prophecy ; which was deeply im- 
pressive and natural. Along this road lay a great 
number of stones, to which our Saviour refers when 
he says, "If these [the disciples] should hold their 
peace, the stones would immediately cry out." 

On Saturday, Christmas-day, I took a stroll, en- 
tirely alone, around the Holy City, to examine what- 
ever was of interest. I visited the upper pool of Gihon, 
situated some distance southwest of the Jaffa road. It 
is something more than three hundred feet long and 
about two hundred and ten feet wide. I found the 
depth, by measuring it with a tape-line, to be about 
twenty feet. Close to it is a Mohammedan burying- 
ground. The longest side of the pool points to the 
Jaffa gate. This reservoir was entirely dry. The 
lower pool of Gihon is situated in the Valley of Gihon, 
nearly opposite the south end of Jerusalem. We 
found its length, in the direction of the wady, to be 
about five hundred and twenty-five feet, and its breadth 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



129 



about two hundred and forty feet. Its depth varies 
greatly, — from a few feet to perhaps twenty. It con- 
tained no water. Mention is made, 2 Chronicles xxxii. 
30, of the upper pool : " This Hezekiah also stopped 
the upper water-course of Gihon, and brought it 
straight down to the west side of the city of David." 

I also visited the fountain En-Rogel, called the Well 
of Job. It is situated in the Wady Kidron, a little 
below the point where the Valley of Ben Hinnom 
unites with the Valley of Jehoshaphat. They were 
drawing water out of it with a skin bucket and pour- 
ing it into a reservoir, from which it was taken away 
in goat-skins. This well is first mentioned in Joshua 
xv. 7, in speaking of the borders of Judah : " The 
goings out thereof were at En-Rogel." We also paid 
a visit to the Fountain and Pool of Siloam, and to the 
Fountain of the Virgin. The Fountain of the Virgin is 
situated in the valley of the Kidron, about two hun- 
dred and fifty yards south of the wall of the Mosque 
El-Aksah. It is quite deep, and is descended by steps. 
A subterranean channel, explored by Dr. Robinson, 
leads from this fountain to the Fountain and Pool of 
Siloam, distant about three hundred and fifty yards, 
towards the southwest. This Fountain of Siloam may 
be about twelve or fifteen feet below the surface of the 
ground. A deep, walled, wide channel extends some 
distance from it, in the direction of the Kidron. The 
waters of the Fountain of Siloam were not very pleasant 
to our taste, although they may have been sweet in 
former times. Of this pool Isaiah speaks : " Foras- 
much as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah, 
that go softly." (viii. 6.) It was to this fountain and 
pool that our Saviour sent the blind man to wash. 



130 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



(John ix. 7.) Luke also speaks of " those eighteen 
upon whom the tower in Siloam [the tower of the 
wall at Siloam] fell and slew them." (xiii. 4.) Our 
great poet, too, has aided in immortalizing it: "And 
Siloa's brook, that flowed fast by the oracle of God." 
Josephus speaks of Siloam in several places in his 
" History of the Jewish Wars," and represents it as 
situated at the end of the Valley of the Cheesemakers, 
which corresponds very well with the present site of 
Siloam. It is probably called Siloam from shalach 
(Heb.), to send, because it is sent down from the Foun- 
tain of the Virgin. The Fountain of the Virgin is so 
called from the tradition that it was used by the Virgin 
Mary. 

On Sunday morning I visited the Armenian con- 
vent, on Mount Zion, and the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre. I attended church that day in the English 
Chapel on Mount Zion. I counted forty-three schol- 
ars in the Sunday-school, made up of all colors. 

On Monday afternoon Mr. Hay, acting United 
States consul, accompanied me to the tombs of the 
kings, about a mile north of Jerusalem, and then to 
those of the judges, about two miles northwest of 
Jerusalem, on the west extremity of the hill Scopus. 
All of these tombs are cut out of the solid rock. 
They probably belong to the time of Herod the Great. 
Over the lofty entrance of the tombs of the kings is a 
representation of shields and grapes. The chambers, 
or niches, for the dead are numerous. It is evident 
that the kings of Judah were not interred here ; for 
they were buried in the city of David. The pediment 
over the entrance to the tombs of the judges resem- 
bles that of the Parthenon at Athens, and belongs, 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



most probably, to the age of Herod. We saw several 
Hebrew names inscribed upon the rocks near the en- 
trance. On Tuesday afternoon, I went to the tomb 
of Absalom. The lower portion is square; the next 
section, circular: this is surmounted by a cone. It is 
wholly of stone ; and, as its architecture is of the Ionic 
order, it is probably not much more ancient than the 
time of Christ. 

We observed some very large stones in the eastern 
wall of Jerusalem, not far from where the Temple 
stood. One of them is about twenty-four feet long. 
The edges of these stones are grooved or beveled, 
and in all probability they belong to the wall existing 
in the time of Christ. Here, too, we observed two 
adjoining arches, under which was the Golden Gate, 
or the Gate that is called Beautiful, where Peter and 
John healed the lame man. On these arches are run- 
ning figures, resembling no living thing. And this is 
a proof of the antiquity of these arches; for the ancient 
Jews, interpreting strictly the prohibition to make any 
graven image, or the likeness of anything in heaven, 
earth, or under the earth, appear never to have made 
any sculpture. I observed also the large stones on 
the west side of the wall El-Aksah, near the south 
end. They are known as " Robinson's Arch," from 
the fact that he first called attention to them, and 
recognized them as a part of the bridge — mentioned 
by Josephus — that led from the Temple over the 
Valley of the Cheesemakers to Mount Zion. These 
stones are near the ground, and are very large. 

About the middle of the west wall of the inclosure 
of the mosques of Omar and El-Aksah we saw the 
Jews' Place of Wailing. They generally congregate 



132 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



there on Friday afternoon, and give vent to their bitter 
grief for the loss of the Temple by kissing the remain- 
ing stones. 

On the afternoon of Tuesday, December 28, I 
made arrangements to visit Hebron, the Dead Sea, the 
Jordan, and Jericho. In making these arrangements, 
I was greatly assisted by our consul, Mr. Hay. He 
sent to me a young man named Farah, a native Arab 
of Mount Lebanon, and who learned English at Bei- 
rut. He was a Protestant Christian, and had accom- 
panied the Rev. Mr. Hotchkiss to Jerusalem a few 
months before. Securing his services, he hired for me 
a muleteer, two horses and a mule. I had cooked at 
the Mediterranean Hotel a leg of mutton and three 
chickens. In addition to this, I had bread and coffee, 
and a few other articles. But I took no tent. The 
consul made arrangements that the sheikh should 
meet me at Mar Saba on Thursday night, to accom- 
pany me as a guard to the Dead Sea and the Jordan. 
Our consul also procured for me a letter from the 
Greek patriarch at Jerusalem to the convent at Mar 
Saba. 

With our dragoman, Farah, muleteer, two horses 
and a mule, we left Jerusalem on Wednesday morning 
about twenty minutes past seven, passing out the Jaffa 
gate. Our road led us by the tomb of Rachel. Be- 
yond this, the road was very rocky in many places. 
About half-past ten o'clock we came to the Pools of 
Solomon, at the beginning of the Wady Urtas. The 
upper pool is about one hundred and eight yards by 
about sixty-eight ; entirely dry ; average depth, about 
fifteen feet. The second pool is about one hundred 
and twenty-one yards long, and the upper width about 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



133 



forty-four yards ; the lower width is greater; the depth 
is twenty or thirty feet. This pool contained a large 
quantity of good water. The lowest of these three 
pools is about one hundred and seventy-one yards by 
fifty-nine yards ; depth, thirty or forty feet. It has 
steps of descent on all sides, cut out of the solid rock. 
It had not much water. An old castle stands near 
these pools. An aqueduct conducts the water by 
Bethlehem to Jerusalem. They are about eight miles 
from Jerusalem. We have no proof that they were 
made by Solomon; but that hypothesis is not improb- 
able. We saw on our way shepherds guarding their 
flocks. This shows that there is nothing improbable 
in the supposition that Christ may have been born on 
the 25th of December, as it was not too late in the 
season for shepherds to tend their flocks. We fre- 
quently observed sheep and goats in the same flock, 
just as we had seen among the Bedouins above Cairo, 
in Egypt, reminding us forcibly of our Saviour's de- 
scription of the last judgment: "And he shall sepa- 
rate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth 
his sheep from the goats." (Matt. xxv. 32.) The road 
to Hebron is, for the most part, stony, rocky, and 
rugged. When three or four miles from it, we found 
the country better cultivated ; and we observed vine- 
stocks and fig-trees. We reached the town about 
a quarter to four p.m. Hebron is about twenty-two 
miles south of Jerusalem. The town is situated near 
the end of the valley, on its east side. This valley is 
mentioned in Genesis xxxvii. 14: "So he [Jacob] 
sent him [Joseph] out of the vale of Hebron." A part 
of the town extends across the lower end of the valley. 
We had a good view of the town from the west side 



134 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



of the valley, which the town faces. The city is very 
compact, and may contain a population of about five 
thousand, a considerable portion of whom are Jews. 
On approaching the city, we first came to some houses 
entirely separated from the rest. This, we were told, 
is a glass factory. A quarantine establishment was 
shown us, west of the city. On entering the town, we 
found some of the inhabitants engaged in making 
water-pots of clay. 

Our dragoman at first intended to stay with a Jew; 
but finding his charge excessive, he took us farther 
into the town, and procured a room, scarcely ten feet 
square, adjoining a yard. The proprietor furnished us 
with a mat. That was all the furniture it contained. 
Our room was elevated eight or ten feet above the 
ground : our animals had other quarters. When we 
left our room in the afternoon, we fastened it with a 
bolt, which was turned by a singularly-arranged piece 
of wood for a key, — somewhat after the fashion of 
bolts and keys in the Homeric times. 

We next made our way through the town to the 
mosque that incloses the remains of Abraham, Isaac, 
Jacob, Sarah, and Leah. We found it on the southeast 
extremity, — the highest part of the town. The build- 
ing is surrounded by a high stone wall. This mosque 
was open to the Prince of Wales, eight or nine years 
previous ; but, as we could claim no royal lineage, of 
course it remained closed to us. That this is the 
identical place — the cave of Machpelah — where Abra- 
ham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Leah were buried, is 
beyond any reasonable doubt. This place, which the 
Arabs call El-Khulil (the Friend), is unquestionably 
the Hebron of the patriarchs. Splendid funereal 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



135 



monuments existed there in the time of Josephus, 
which he regarded as ancient; for, speaking of He- 
bron, he remarks : " Now, the people of the country 
say it is a more ancient city, not only than any in that 
country, but than Memphis in Egypt, and accordingly 
its age is reckoned at twenty-three hundred years. 
They also relate that it had been the habitation of 
Abraham, the progenitor of the Jews, after he had 
removed out of Mesopotamia ; and they say that his 
posterity descended thence into Egypt, whose monu- 
ments are to tins very time shown in that small city ; the 
fabrics of which monuments are of the most excellent 
marble, and wrought after the most elegant manner!'* 
Zoan, in Egypt, as we have already seen, was built at 
least twenty-two hundred years before Christ, and 
Hebron is seven years older than that city. (Num. 
xiii. 22.) 

When we returned from the mosque, we sent our 
dragoman to get some milk for our coffee. He re- 
turned with the intelligence that "the cows and sheep 
are out of town" ; so we had to do without it. 
Our dragoman had brought no charcoal for a fire, 
which our consul said must be taken, and our fire 
was made of some small sticks. We spent a rather 
unpleasant night in our room without any bed. 

Next morning we started about six o'clock for Mar 
Saba, without coffee, for our dragoman told us he 
could get no water to make it. We passed over the 
same road we came, as far as the Pools of Solomon. 
We saw several fountains of water by the wayside. 
We turned a little out of our road to visit the site of 



* " Wars of the Jews," Book iv., chap. 9. 



136 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Ramah. Here we saw the foundations of a large 
building. We saw also the ruins of Beth Zur. After 
passing the Pools of Solomon, we came along the 
aqueduct that leads from these pools to Bethlehem. 
The aqueduct is made of stone and pottery, about a 
foot and a half or two feet in diameter. It runs along 
the surface of the ground on the border of the Wady 
Urtas. In several places the aqueduct is open, and 
men, horses, camels, and donkeys promiscuously slake 
their thirst in this excellent water. We saw a little 
village, Urtas, on our right, deep down in the Wady 
Urtas. Here the bottom of the wady is laid out 
in beautifully cultivated gardens with trees. After 
stopping awhile near Bethlehem, where we tried in 
vain to get some milk, and where the people pressed 
us to buy their trinkets, we pushed on towards Mar 
Saba. The day was hot, and the shade refreshing, 
though it was the 30th day of December. We had 
observed some persons near Hebron, enjoying their 
noonday meal under the shade of a tree, — an olive, I 
think. 

The road, through the desert of Judea, was rough 
and hilly, and we had to dismount our horses occa- 
sionally. We saw Bedouins with their flocks, and 
my dragoman without my knowledge started off to 
buy milk from these people ; on returning, he said he 
had bought none, for they wanted forty or fifty cents 
for rather a small quantity. A little before sunset, we 
came in sight of the top of the convent of Mar Saba. 
Dismounting our horses, we allowed them to pursue a 
winding path down to the convent. The descent is 
very rapid. The convent is a large mass of buildings 
situated on the side of the Wady Kidron. The 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



137 



country in the vicinity of the convent is exceedingly 
rough, cut up into deep wadies, and barren. 

We knocked at the door of the convent, and I sent 
in my passport from the Greek patriarch in Jerusalem. 
Here we had comfortable quarters. Some time after 
my arrival, I was informed that the sheikh had not come 
himself, but had sent a man in his place to accompany 
us to the Dead Sea. I was annoyed at this ; for I 
was not sure that this man could keep the Bedouins 
in awe, and I did not feel disposed to incur any great 
risk. At length I requested my dragoman to bring 
him in. I was immediately struck with his fine phy- 
sique and dignified appearance, and he soon inspired 
me with confidence. I asked him through my drago- 
man whether he had been upon such expeditions be- 
fore; he answered, " often." I concluded to go with 
him. Next day, I learned that he was the son of the 
sheikh. Had I been told this at first, it would have 
saved me all trouble. 

At the convent, they brought me coffee, and then 
spread a thick mat, upon which I was to sleep. I was 
exceedingly fatigued, and fell asleep before eight 
o'clock, from which I was awaked by the monk about 
half-past. four next morning. After some breakfast 
we started for the Dead Sea, about six o'clock. The 
son of the sheikh, as my escort, took the lead. I had 
a fine opportunity to observe him closely. His phy- 
sique was fine ; his color was that of copper ; he had 
dark whiskers and dark moustache; he wore a Turkish 
cap, around which was wrapped a nondescript turban. 
His robe was made of a kind of check, coming down 
a little below the knees, — under which was a shirt 
coming down still lower. He wore a girdle. His 

12* 



133 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



shoes were broad and flat, strongly resembling the 
feet of a camel, which this child of nature seems to 
have imitated. At his right hung a ram's horn of 
powder from his girdle, while at his back hung a bag 
of cartridges of some kind or other. Also from his back 
swung, suspended by a cord, passing through the lock 
and the exterior part of the barrel, a flint-lock musket. 
He was very attentive to me, and said, "Bedouin 
tyib" " Bedouin good" ; I hesitated for a moment to 
answer this, for I could not regard all the Bedouins 
as saints, and answered, "Ante tyib" " you are good." 
For the first two hours after leaving the convent we 
saw not a living creature. The morning was delight- 
ful ; the moon shone beautifully, and its waning form 
must have been deeply interesting to my Mohammedan 
escort, not only on account of its being the symbol 
of his faith, but from its announcing by its small- 
ness the speedy close of the hateful fast of the Rama- 
dan. The sun rose with form greatly elongated over 
the mountains of Moab, whose deep-blue mass was 
projected against a brilliant sky. The scene was truly 
grand, and the contrast between the brilliancy of the 
heavens above us and the desolation beneath our 
feet was striking. We scared up a flock of partridges 
on the way, and saw several Bedouin encampments. 
We passed close to a mountain called Neby Moses, 
where tradition relates Moses was buried. In coming 
down from the high desert land of Judea into the 
valley of the Dead Sea and of the Jordan, we saw in 
the north, more than a hundred miles distant, Mount 
Hermon raising his broad, lofty, snow-capped head. 
The cool breeze from the Dead Sea was refreshing, 
and the sea appeared to be a sea of life in the midst 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



139 



of death. Perhaps it is called " dead" from the dead- 
ness of everything around. When not far from its 
head, we saw some low-spreading trees, with branches 
resembling Scotch broom. My Bedouin escort in- 
formed me that the name of this tree was retain, 
broom-tree. This is the rothem of the Hebrew, the 
same word which our translators render "juniper," 
under which Elijah* sat, in the south of Judea, where 
Dr. Robinson found the same tree. 

Here too, and at the Jordan, we saw large numbers 
of tall reeds easily moved by the wind. In this re- 
gion John baptized. The sight of these reeds brought 
forcibly to my mind the language of our Saviour re- 
specting John : " But what went ye out into the 
desert [of Judea] to see ? A reed shaken with the 
wind ?" Near these reeds, not far from the Dead Sea, 
we saw a fountain of water ; we tasted it, but found it 
unfit to drink. We reached the Dead Sea before 
noon. We observed along its northern shore, at 
an elevation of four or five feet above the water, a 
large quantity of drift-wood, washed there, we sup- 
pose, when the sea was higher. We bathed in the 
waters of the sea, which we found unpleasantly cold. 
They are very clear, very salt, and very bitter, — the 
bitter taste remaining in the mouth for some time. 
We found no difficulty in sinking in the water. I 
rode along the shore of the sea with the intention of 
seeing the entrance of the Jordan into it. My com- 
panions had gone on to strike the Jordan about four 
miles above its mouth. But finding that I continued 
my journey along the shore, one of them rode back 



* I Kings xix. 4. 



140 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



to me in haste, declaring that Bedouins were at the 
mouth of the river, and besides this, it would detain 
us four hours to go there. I don't suppose any Bed- 
ouins were there ; and we might have been detained 
a couple of hours by the detour. I yielded to his 
wishes. 

The fact is, when a traveler attempts to depart from 
the usual path he meets with strong opposition from 
his attendants, who invent all sorts of stories to deter 
him. My dragoman, a Protestant Christian, I think, 
was not a whit more conscientious than other guides. 
We struck the Jordan a little before two p.m. The 
plain above the Dead Sea is but a few feet higher than 
the sea. On approaching the Jordan, I turned aside 
a little, and rode up to the bank, which in this place 
was perpendicular. Here one of my attendants called 
after me to come back, as my horse would be mired. 
Of this there was not the slightest danger ; they did 
not wish to be detained, that was all. We found at 
the Jordan an Arab in charge of a large number of 
camels that were feeding on the shrubbery. The 
Jordan, where we stopped, was easy of access, the 
bank sloping down to the stream from an elevation 
of not more than eight or ten feet. The stream here, 
near the bank, is shallow, and the bottom covered with 
pebbles, to which the Baptist probably alludes when 
he says : " God is able of these stones to raise up 
children unto Abraham" (Matt. iii. 9). The Jordan here 
is about thirty yards wide, and quite rapid. Along 
its banks are small trees, bushes, and thickets. In 
these thickets it seems that in ancient times lions 
dwelt, and that they were driven out when the river 
overflowed its banks. Hence the language of the 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



141 



prophet : " Behold, he shall come up like a lion from 
the swelling of Jordan" (Jer. xlix. 19). Some distance 
back from the stream, I cannot say exactly how far, 
perhaps thirty yards, there is a second bank, several 
feet high, ascending which, you are on the plain of 
Jericho. We drank of the sacred waters of the Jor- 
dan, and washed our hands and face in it, and brought 
away two bottles of the water, one of which was 
broken on the way to Jerusalem, and the other we 
brought home in safety. It was at this spot, or very 
near here, that John baptized the multitudes that 
came to him, and that our Saviour himself was bap- 
tized, and the voice came from heaven : " This is my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 

Very near this place too, nearly opposite Jericho, 
about four miles above the Dead Sea, the Israelites 
under Joshua crossed over, while the waters above 
stood up like a heap. 

We left the Jordan about two p.m. for new Jericho. 
We crossed the Wady Kelt, containing but little water, 
and passed through balsam-trees and hawthorns. We 
saw two eagles in the plain of Jericho. We overtook 
on the way a large herd of small cattle. We were 
pleased with this, for it gave us a prospect of obtain- 
ing milk for our coffee. We reached new Jericho, a 
small, miserable hut town, about four p.m. With the 
son of the sheikh as a guide, I went to the site of old 
Jericho, a mile and a half farther, on the border of the 
plain, at the foot of the mountain region. Here we 
saw some old houses and arches, and a large mound. 
A fountain of water, Ain Sultan, Fountain of the 
Sultan, strong enough to turn a grist-mill, pours forth 
from the base of the mound. This is evidently the 



142 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



site of old Jericho, whose walls fell down in the days 
of Joshua. It is to this fountain, doubtless, that 
allusion is made in Joshua xvi. I : " And the lot of the 
children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto 
the water of Jericho on the east [of the city?], to the 
wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout 
Mount Beth-el." This is also the fountain whose 
bitter waters were healed by Elisha : " And the men 
of the city [Jericho] said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray 
thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord 
seeth : but the water is naught, and the ground bar- 
ren. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put 
salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he 
went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the 
salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have 
healed these waters ; there shall not be from thence 
any more death or barren land. So the waters were 
healed unto this day" (2 Kings ii. 19-22). Josephus 
also speaks of this fountain : " There is a fountain by 
Jericho that runs plentifully, and is very fit for water- 
ing the ground ; it rises near the old city, which 
Joshua, the son of Nun, the general of the Hebrews, 
took the first of all the cities of the land of Canaan, 
by right of war."* We found the water of the foun- 
tain good ; it waters the plain of Jericho, and is almost 
entirely exhausted by the people in irrigation and in 
other uses. The distances of this site, both from Je- 
rusalem and the Jordan, correspond well with those 
given by Josephus, — one hundred and fifty furlongs 
(about eighteen miles) from the former, and sixty fur- 
longs (about seven miles) from the latter, f 



* "Wars," Book iv., chap. 8. 



f Ibid. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



143 



I returned from old to new Jericho. Here I saw 
the largest fig-trees that I had met with in Palestine. 
Their leaves were still green, and so were those of a 
vine-stock that I observed, although it was the last 
day of December. Jericho lies nearly four thousand 
feet lower than Jerusalem, hence its temperature is 
higher than that of Jerusalem, in the vicinity of which 
the fig-trees were leafless. We stayed for the night 
near an old castle. The proprietor seemed anxious 
that I should take up my lodging with him, and 
showed me his rooms ; but none of them pleased me, 
so I determined to sleep out in the open air, on a pile 
of stone built around a reservoir. The place had 
simply a covering. My dragoman obtained some 
goat's milk for my coffee, which was excellent, 
for I made it myself. When it grew dark, some of 
the Arabs gathered around our fire. One of the na- 
tives, of ash color, dressed in fantastics, with an old 
sword, paid us a visit to get some backshish for his 
performances. He had on a tall hat, and around his 
face were tied some tags of sheep's wool. He went 
through various manoeuvres with his sword, while 
the Arabs looked intently at me to see how I would 
take the matter. At length I burst into a laugh, with 
the remark that " I was not born in the woods to be 
scared by an owl." I gave him some backshish, and 
got rid of his antics and fooleries. 

While engaged in endeavoring to obtain the varia- 
tion of the magnetic needle, by observations of the 
polar star, the Arabs seemed curious to know what I 
was about. I could not get the variation exactly, but 
it seemed to be about ten degrees west. During the 
night the jackals entertained me, and I may say, 



i 4 4 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



delighted me, with their howlings ; for I saw in their 
howlings some beautiful illustrations of Scripture. 
The translators of the English Bible knew nothing of 
this animal ; at least they never call it by- this name. 
They have used as substitute for it, dragons, wild beasts 
of the islands, etc. The Hebrew word iy, plural, iyyim, 
is given by Gesenius, the howler x the jackal ; so also 
the word tannim is to be rendered jackals: "And 
jackals shall howl in their pleasant palaces" (Isa. 
xiii. 22) ; " In the habitation of jackals [the desert] 
shall be grass with reeds and rushes" (Isa. xxxv. 7). 
The jackal bears considerable resemblance to the fox, 
but is rather larger. The night was quite pleasant. 
About four o'clock in the morning, when the jackals 
had given a simultaneous yelp, we started for Jeru- 
salem. 

The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is, for the most 
part, exceedingly rough, passing through the desert of 
Judea. I felt myself in great peril in making this jour- 
ney in the dark, for my horse was lame, and I feared he 
would fall down. It was in this region that " a cer- 
tain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and 
fell among thieves" (Luke x. 30); and this moun- 
tainous, desolate tract would naturally afford a good 
hiding-place for robbers. We saw but little cultiva- 
tion anywhere between Jericho and Jerusalem. A 
short time before reaching Bethany we ascended a 
high, steep hill, at the foot of which was a fountain of 
water. At the top of this hill our escort, the^son of 
the sheikh, left us. We paid him for three days, at 
the rate of two francs and a half a day, and gave him 
some backshish in addition. He lived at Abu Dis, 
not far from Bethany. On reaching Bethany, I re- 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



145 



solved to ascertain the distance from thence to Jeru- 
salem. Five or six minutes after leaving Bethany I 
came in full view of nearly all Jerusalem, at the 
Mount of Olives, where our Saviour wept over the 
city, and in thirty-nine or forty minutes after leaving 
Bethany I entered St. Stephen's gate in Jerusalem. 
The rate of my horse was about two and a half miles 
an hour; for we were seven hours and a quarter, or 
rather more, on the way from new Jericho to Jerusa- 
lem; over eight hours, exclusive of stoppages, in 
going from Jerusalem to Hebron. These thirty-nine 
or forty minutes, then, will give us about a mile and 
three-quarters as the distance from Bethany to Jeru- 
salem, just as the evangelist states, " Now Bethany 
was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs ofT" 
(John xi. 18). The Greek furlong was two hundred 
and two yards, so that fifteen of them would make 
about one mile and three-quarters. 

I entered the Prussian hospice, in Jerusalem, about 
a quarter-past eleven a.m. The journey had been a 
wearisome one, but deeply interesting. A merciful 
Providence had kindly preserved me. It was the first 
day of the new year. 

The following Sunday morning I again attended 
English service on Mount Zion, and heard Bishop 
Gobat preach, and communed after service. It was a 
rare privilege, to celebrate the death of Christ in the 
very city where he originally instituted the holy ser- 
vice. When the minister read the Scripture in which the 
phrase, " And the daughter of Zion," occurred, it pro- 
duced a singular and impressive effect. 

On the following Tuesday I went on horseback 
with a dragoman to Neby Samwil, the Mizpeh of 



146 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Scripture, about five miles northwest of Jerusalem. 
This hill is the highest point in the whole region 
about Jerusalem. On the top stands an old mosque 
with minaret, a very plain, square stone building. I 
had no difficulty in obtaining admission to this vener- 
able building, which " is regarded by Jews, Christians, 
and Mohammedans as covering the tomb of the 
prophet Samuel." I ascended the low minaret, and 
from that height I had a fine view of the country 
around, El-Jib (Gibeon), Beeroth, Upper Bethhoron, 
Gibeah, Ram- Allah. To the north of Mizpeh is a fine, 
fertile valley, on the east border of which is Gibeon, 
the inhabitants of which deceived Joshua. To the 
east of us was Beit Hanina, a village in Wady Ha- 
nina. On the southwest the Mount of Olives was visi- 
ble. There is scarcely a dozen inhabitants in Mizpeh. 
There are a few remains of some ancient buildings. 
The top of the hill is not large. In returning to Jeru- 
salem, we came by way of Lifta, a village in which 
there are several fountains of water. Dr. Barclay 
supposes this village to be the Nephtoah of Scripture. 

As we passed along, we saw in Wady Hanina an 
ass and a heifer yoked to the same plow. From 
Lifta, whicn stands on the southeast side of the val- 
ley of Hanina, we ascended the hill to the road that 
leads from Joppa to Jerusalem. The hill was very 
steep and exceedingly rocky, and to horses not trained 
to such ground it would have been impassable. My 
dragoman took the lead, with a musket swung across 
his shoulders, the muzzle of which, pointing towards 
me occasionally as he rode over the rocks, was not 
very pleasant. I cannot but attribute his taking his 
musket to his cowardice. Nowhere in Palestine, ex- 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



147 



cept from Mar Saba to the Dead Sea, Jordan, Jericho, 
and Bethany, had I been accompanied by any one 
bearing fire-arms. 

On Thursday I visited a second time the Garden of 
Gethsemane. It lies just east of the Kidron, at the 
foot of the Mount of Olives. The garden is sur- 
rounded by a stone wall ; it is in the form of a paral- 
lelogram ; the length of the garden is about fifty-nine 
yards, its breadth about fifty-four yards, and the height 
of the wall about ten feet. It contains eight clus- 
ters of old olive-trees. A small building stands in- 
side of the walls, in which a monk lives who has 
charge of the garden. The garden is divided by 
pale fences into several compartments, in which flowers 
are cultivated. On making my first visit, I knocked 
at the door that stands near the southeast corner. 
It was at length opened by the monk from within 
by an arrangement of cords, which college stu- 
dents would call a lazy-latch. The monk pointed 
out to me the place where Judas betrayed Christ with 
a kiss, and where the apostles fell asleep. I would 
have been satisfied with something less than this mi- 
nute identification of localities. When I made my 
second visit, the monk was absent, and I knocked till 
his return. On letting me into the garden he con- 
ducted me into one of its apartments, locked the gate 
and went into his house, thus leaving me to sacred 
meditation. There is no reason to doubt that this is 
the place, certainly very near here, where our Saviour 
suffered his painful agony on the night of his betrayal. 
In Matthew it is stated, " Then cometh Jesus with them 
unto a place called Gethsemane" (oil press). Mark 
uses the same language. Luke says : " And he came 



148 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



out, and went as he was wont to the Mount of Olives." 
John says : " When Jesus had spoken these words, he 
went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron, 
where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his 
disciples." The tradition that fixes the scene of the 
agony at this place is as old as Eusebius, in the first 
part of the fourth century. Feeling assured that 
either in this place, or in its immediate vicinity, our 
Saviour passed through his terrible agony, when " his 
sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down 
to the ground," I felt the deep solemnity of the place 
and its soul-stirring associations. And what a multi- 
tude of allusions, thought I, have been made to this 
garden in all ages of the church ! As long as there 
is any love for Christ, or any appreciation of his char- 
acter in the world, or any soul deeply impressed with 
its need of an atoning Saviour, this garden can never 
lose its profound interest. 

After remaining here perhaps about a quarter of an 
hour, I called for the monk to let me out, but I called 
in vain ; climbing up to the top of the pales, I jumped 
down and went out of the garden. When out of sight 
of the garden, I went back some distance to take a last 
lingering look at the scene of our Saviour's agony. 

On the afternoon of the same day it rained consid- 
erably ; but the weather had generally been very dry. 
This afternoon I made arrangements for leaving Jeru- 
salem for the northern part of Palestine. Before leav- 
ing the Holy City it is proper to offer some reflections 
upon it. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



149 



CHAPTER VI. 

A Description of Jerusalem. — Its Situation. — Its Valleys. — Its sur- 
rounding Hills. — Its Ancient Walls. — Its Modern Gates. — A De- 
scription of the Modern City. — Church of the Holy Sepulchre 
not the true site of our Lord's Crucifixion. — Ancient History of 
Jerusalem. — Josephus's Description of the Temple. — The Capture 
of the City and Temple by Titus. — Christ's Prophecy of that Event. — 
The Subsequent History of the Holy City. — Its Capture by Godfrey 
of Bouillon, etc. 

Jerusalem is situated on a promontory or elevated 
tongue of land, surrounded on all sides, except the 
north, by deep valleys. As you approach the city 
from the northwest, coming from Joppa, you find that 
you cross the highest part of the mountain-range 
about a mile or more distant from Jerusalem. When 
within a short distance of its northern limit, you per- 
ceive, on your right, a depression, becoming deeper 
and deeper as you approach the Jaffa gate, and ex- 
tending down several hundred yards farther, where it 
turns, — a very deep valley here, — and extends towards 
the east, and unites with another deep valley coming 
down on the east of the city. These valleys, or 
wadies, unite and form the Kidron, which runs down 
to the Dead Sea. The valley on the west of the city 
is called " the Valley of Gihon" ; on the south of the 
city, " the Valley of the Son of Hinnom." The valley 
on the east is " the Valley of Jehoshaphat," in which 
is the Wady Kidron. The depth of the ravine south 

13* 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



of Mount Zion has been estimated by Dr. Robinson 
to be about one hundred and fifty-four feet ; and the 
Valley of Jehoshaphat, at a point southeast of the 
southeast corner of the mosque, is one hundred and 
twenty-eight feet lower than the area of the mosque. 
The west side of this tongue of land, on which Jeru- 
salem is built, is the highest ; and it declines towards 
the east, and in some places is quite steep. Of this 
tract, Mount Zion occupies the southwest part ; and 
immediately below it, on the east, is Moriah, the site 
of the Temple of Solomon, now called Haram Esh- 
Sherif (Noble Sanctuary), covered in part by the 
mosques of Omar and El-Aksah. Dr. Robinson 
locates Acra north of Zion, from which he would 
separate it by the Tyropceon, or Valley of Cheese- 
makers, coming down from the Jaffa gate ; but there 
is nothing here that can be properly called a valley. 
Acra must be located in the northeast part of the city, 
and Bezetha farther northeast, and occupying also 
the tract north of the city that is now left out by the 
city wall. The ground north of the city is generally 
level for more than half a mile, and is scarcely elevated 
above that of the present city. North of this region, 
about a mile and a half north of the city wall, is the 
hill Scopus, upon which Titus encamped before he 
destroyed Jerusalem. East of the Valley of Jehosha- 
phat rises the Mount of Olives, one hundred and 
seventy-five feet higher than the highest point of Zion. 
Not far south of the Mount of Olives is the Mount of 
Offence. South of the Valley of the Son of Hinnom 
is the Hill of Evil Counsel, of about the same height 
as Zion. On the west of the Valley of Gihon is a 
ridge of land, separating this valley from the Valley 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



of Rephaim (Giants). South of the site of the Temple 
of Solomon is a long, narrow ridge, called Ophel. 
The surrounding hills justify the language of the 
psalmist : " As the mountains are round about Jeru- 
salem, so the Lord is round about his people from 
henceforth, even for ever." (Psalm cxxv. 2.) North 
of the Damascus gate begins a deep depression of 
land, extending through the city down to the Pool of 
Siloam, thus dividing the city into two parts ; this 
valley must be the Tyropceon, " Valley of Cheese- 
makers," of Josephus ; the tract west of this valley is 
far higher than that east of it. 

Josephus's description is as follows : " Jerusalem 
was fortified with three walls [when it was besieged 
by Titus], on such parts as were not encompassed with 
impassable valleys ; for in such places it had but one 
wall. The city was built upon two hills, which are 
opposite to one another and have a valley to divide 
them asunder; at which valley the corresponding 
rows of houses on both hills end. Of these hills, that 
which contains the upper city is much higher, and in 
length more direct. Accordingly, it was called the 
4 Citadel ' by King David, but is by us called the 
' Upper Market-Place.' But the other hill, which is 
called Acra, and sustains the lower city, is gibbous 
(like the moon in her third quarter). Over against 
this was a third hill [Moriah], but naturally lower 
than Acra, and parted formerly from the other by a 
broad valley. However, in those times in which the 
Asmoneans reigned, they filled up that valley with 
earth, and had a mind to join the city to the Temple. 
They then took off part of the height of Acra, and 
reduced it to be of less elevation than it was before, 



152 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



y 



that the Temple might be higher than it. Now, the 
Valley of the Cheesemakers, as it was called, and was 
that which we told you before distinguished the hill 
of the upper city from that of the lower, extended as 
far as Siloam. But on the outside these hills are 
surrounded by deep valleys, and, by reason of the 
precipices belonging to them on both sides, they are 
everywhere impassable. . . . Now that wall [the old 
wall] began at a tower called Hippicus [near the Jaffa 
gate], and extended as far as the Xistus, — a place 
so called, — and then joining to the Council-House, 
ended at the west cloister of the Temple. But if we 
go the other way, westward, it began at the same 
place [Tower of Hippicus], and extended through a 
place called ' Bethso ' to the Gate of the Essenes ; and 
after that it went southward, having its bending above 
the Fountain Siloam, where it also bends again toward 
the east at Solomon's Pool, and reaches as far as a 
certain place which they call Ophlas, where it was 
joined to the eastern cloisters of the Temple. The 
second wall took its beginning from that gate which 
they call Gennath, which belonged to the first wall ; 
it encompassed only the northern quarter of the city, 
and reached as far as the Tower Antonia. The begin- 
ning of the third wall was at the tower Hippicus, 
whence it reached as far as the north quarter of the 
city and the tower Psephinus, and then was so far 
extended till it came over against the monuments of 
Helena, — which Helena was queen of Adiabene, the 
daughter of Izates. It then extended farther to a 
great length, and passed by the sepulchral caverns of 
the kings, and bent again at the tower of the corner, 
at the monument which is called the ' Monument of 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



153 



the Fuller,' and joined to the old wall at the valley 
called 'the Valley of the Kidron.'" " It was Agrippa 
who encompassed the parts added to the old city with 
this wall, which had been all naked before ; for as the 
city grew more populous it gradually crept beyond 
its own limits, and those parts of it that stood north- 
ward of the Temple, and joined that hill to the city 
and made it considerably larger, and occasioned that 
hill which is in number the fourth and is called Be- 
zetha, to be inhabited also."* Josephus also informs 
us that the whole circuit of the city was thirty-three 
stadia, — nearly four miles ; this would give us an area 
of about a square mile. 

The length of the whole wall around Jerusalem at 
present, according to the measurements of Dr. Rob- 
inson, is something less than two and a half miles ; 
which gives us something less than a third of a square 
mile in area, as its breadth from the Jaffa gate to the 
edge of the Valley of Jehoshaphat is about ten hun- 
dred and twenty yards, and its average length is about 
the same. The south part of Mount Zion is now left 
out by the southern wall, and also the whole of Ophel. 
The northern wall also leaves out a large tract once 
covered by the ancient city. 

According to Josephus, the Valley of the Cheese- 
makers divided the upper city from the lower one, 
and the city was built upon two hills. We have 
already seen that the Valley of the Cheesemakers be- 
gins north of the Damascus gate, and extends to the 
Fountain of Siloam. The west side of the city is, in 
its whole extent, higher than the eastern ; but if we 



* " Wars," Book v., chap. 4. 



154 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



suppose the Valley of the Cheesemakers to begin at 
the Jaffa gate, as Dr. Robinson does, then the city is 
not divided into two great parts, but into three, for 
there is the conspicuous valley coming down from the 
Damascus gate. Nor could that tract north and 
northeast of the Jaffa gate be called the lower city, 
for a part of it is rather higher than Mount Zion. 

The present walls of Jerusalem are, on an average, 
about thirty or forty feet high. They were built in 
1542. There are five gates of entrance through these 
walls. The gate through which American and Euro- 
pean travelers enter the city, is the Jaffa gate, on the 
west side, close to the Tower of Hippicus ; the Da- 
mascus gate stands in the north wall ; St. Stephen's 
gate in the east ; and the Zion gate, on Mount Zion, 
in the southern wall. Besides these gates, there is an- 
other gate in the southern wall, at the Tyropceon, not 
very far from the southwest corner of the Mosque El- 
Aksah. This is the Dung gate. We passed through 
this gate, which was closed when Dr. Robinson was 
in Jerusalem. On a Sunday, however, we found it 
closed. 

All these gates are closed at sunset, except the 
Jaffa gate, which I understood is kept open till a late 
hour. Armed guards stand at these gates during the 
day. 

In the tract of land north of the present walls I 
observed several old cisterns. A few hundred yards 
north of the Damascus gate is a grove of olives, and 
near it a large bank of ashes, thrown out there in all 
probability before the destruction of the city by Titus. 

A little east of the Damascus gate is a cistern or 
pool of water, Birk Hejjeh. A little to the northeast 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



155 



of the Damascus gate is the Grotto of Jeremiah ; we 
paid it a visit, but knocked at the door in vain for ad- 
mission. Just above this is a considerable hill, which 
is probably, in part at least, the Bezetha of Josephus. 
It is now a Mohammedan cemetery. The Moham- 
medans have also a cemetery south of St. Stephen's 
gate, between the city wall and the Valley of Jehosh- 
aphat. We saw the reputed tomb of the Virgin Mary 
in the Valley of the Kidron, a short distance northwest 
of Gethsemane. The Valley of the Tyropceon and 
Ophel, south of the great mosques, outside of the city, 
were partly set in cauliflowers. The reputed tomb of 
David, covered with a building, lies on Mount Zion, 
outside of the wall, and west of it is a cemetery, and 
just outside of the walls, on the southwest part of 
Zion, is the Protestant cemetery. When I visited it I 
found the door of admission to the inclosure locked. 

The general appearance of the country around Je- 
rusalem is desolate. Not far from Jerusalem to the 
east, the desert of Judea sets in. It is true that in the 
spring the country may appear very different, but 
heavy crops cannot be raised here. But few trees are 
here seen except the olive. 

The streets of Jerusalem, like those of all Oriental 
cities, are narrow, without sidewalks, and are gener- 
ally paved with stone. Some of the streets are partly 
arched over with dwellings. These streets are for the 
most part straight, and, for an Oriental city, are not 
very dirty. Neither in Jerusalem, nor in any Oriental 
city that I have seen, is there any name affixed to the 
streets, or any number to a house. I cannot say that 
they have names. I heard a street one day called 
Christian Street by my guide. Whether it was the 



i 5 6 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



name or not, I am unable to say ; the street was in 
the Christian quarter. The streets in Jerusalem are 
not lighted ; and in traveling in the night it is neces- 
sary to take a lantern. 

The houses of Jerusalem are all built of stone, 
even their floors, owing to the scarcity of wood. They 
all terminate in domes or cupolas. Of course there 
is perfect security against fire. Few of these houses 
are more than two stories high. 

The population of Jerusalem, according to the last 
estimate, or census, as our acting consul in Jerusa- 
lem, Mr. Hay, called it, is as follows: Jews 12,000, 
Mohammedans 5000, Christians 4000; total 21,000. 
Many of the Jews here live on charity. West of the 
Valley of Gihon is a long row of low, new buildings, 
the hospital for the Jews, built by their wealthier 
brethren. The Jews are said to be greatly oppressed 
by their rabbins. Some of the Jews are money- 
changers. Indeed, this is a quite important business 
in Jerusalem. You are not to imagine a large broker 
establishment, — though there is one establishment of 
this kind at least in the town, — but men sitting on the 
sides of the streets with large coffers, in which they 
have piles of coins, ready to shave you at a moment's 
notice. One of these money-changers demanded of 
me a discount of one franc in giving me francs for a 
twenty-franc gold piece. They will not change coin 
for you without a heavy discount. Such a thing as 
getting money changed as we do in America, without 
paying for it, is unknown in Jerusalem. 

In the city- there are several stores kept by Euro- 
peans. Mr. Spitler's is the largest of these. This 
store belongs to a Swiss gentleman, who, I under- 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



157 



stood, gives away his profits to religious purposes. 
The ordinary bazaars, or stores with open fronts, on 
the sides of the streets, are small, and of course have 
no great variety of goods. 

The water in Jerusalem is principally rain-water, 
caught in cisterns. A considerable quantity is brought 
from the well En-Rogel. When I was in Jerusalem, 
the weather was dry, and the stock of water was 
growing very short. 

Fuel is a scarce article, not only in Jerusalem, but 
in all Palestine. You see frequently camels loaded 
with wood entering Jerusalem by the Jaffa gate. The 
wood generally consists of stumps of old olive-trees, 
scrub oaks with their stumps, and oak-brush. Char- 
coal is also used. Fuel is used by the natives for 
cooking only, as the ground never freezes in Pales- 
tine, and as snow and really cold weather are not 
known there. But there is a dampness in their lime- 
stone houses, which makes them rather unpleasant to 
Europeans and Americans without fire. I was at Je- 
rusalem in mid-winter, and the room in which I stayed 
had no arrangements for heating and was rather un- 
pleasant to me. Not far from the Church of the 
Holy Sepulchre is an establishment where various 
articles are made of olive-wood, which are purchased 
by visitors as memorials of the Holy City. 

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is regarded by 
Christians as the most sacred place in Jerusalem, pro- 
vided they have faith in the tradition that assigns the 
crucifixion and burial of Christ to that locality. We 
had felt the force of the objections that Dr. Robinson 
had urged against the tradition, but counter argu- 
ments drawn from tradition had led us strongly to 

1 4 



i 5 8 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



regard the locality as the true site. But a view of the 
location of the church in the very heart of the modern 
city dispelled at once the idea that this church stands 
over the place where our Saviour was buried. With 
the feeling that the church does not cover the true site, 
it lost for us the interest that it would otherwise have 
had. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built origi- 
nally by Constantine, in the first part of the fourth 
century, is shared by several Christian denominations 
in common. The church has been several times de- 
stroyed in part, and been rebuilt. At present, they 
show therein the tomb in which our Saviour lay ; 
it stands in a small apartment in charge of a monk; 
lights are kept continually burning around it. They 
also point out the place where the cross stood, and 
various other localities connected with the scenes 
of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of our 
Saviour, which imagination or fraud has invented. 

A temple of Venus stood over the spot which was 
selected in the time of Constantine as the site for the 
Church of the Holy Sepulchre. That tradition had 
preserved the true spot to the time of Constantine we 
have no proof, but simply an a priori probability. 
But it is possible that in the destruction of Jerusalem, 
with the demolition of most of its walls, and all, or 
nearly all, its houses, and the changes introduced in 
the vicinity of the city, especially on the north, where 
the attack was made upon the city by Titus, the site 
of the crucifixion may have been lost. The third wall, 
around the northern part of Jerusalem, was built about 
twelve years after the crucifixion ; and the building 
of this wall, and of new houses, may have obliterated 
all traces of the site of the crucifixion and burial. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



159 



The church stands about three hundred and fifty 
yards from the Jaffa gate, two hundred and fifty from 
the northern wall of the city, and about a quarter of a 
mile from the ground once covered by Solomon's 
Temple. It is difficult to believe that at the time of 
Christ, when the city was at the height of its pros- 
perity, this spot lay outside of the city, even if it lay 
outside of the second wall. The place where our 
Lord was crucified was " without the gate" (Heb. xiii. 
12), but "nigh to the city" (John xix. 20). The second 
wall, already built in the time of Christ, must have 
included the Pool of Hezekiah, — still existing, — and 
could not well have done that without at the same 
time including the site of the holy sepulchre. 

It is not reasonable to suppose that the Jews would 
have buried in the town, and on the supposition that 
houses were standing in the neighborhood of the holy 
sepulchre, we cannot suppose that our Saviour was 
buried there. One thing is clear, the traditions of the 
monks respecting sacred localities are of themselves 
of but little value. The Church of the Ascension, 
standing on the top of the Mount of Olives, certainly 
does not occupy the site from which our Saviour 
ascended to heaven; for, according to Luke, it must 
have taken place from Bethany. Tradition seems 
prone to fix on the most conspicuous localities. 

The site on which Jerusalem stands was evidently 
selected on account of its strength. It is impossible 
to say when the city was founded. As far back as the 
time of Abraham, mention is made of Melchizedek, 
king of Salem. (Gen. xiv. 18.) This Salem is in all 
probability Jerusalem, just as the city is so called in 
Psalm lxxvi. 2 : "In Salem also is his tabernacle." In 



l6o A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Joshua x. I, mention is made of Adoni-Zedek, king 
of Jerusalem. In the division of Palestine, Jerusalem 
fell within the limits of the territory of Benjamin. But 
neither Benjamin nor Judah could drive out the Jebu- 
sites from Jerusalem ; but they retained possession for 
about four hundred years after the conquest of the 
land of Canaan, when they were driven out by David, 
and the city made the capital of his kingdom. David 
also brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem ; 
and Solomon, his son and successor, built on Mount 
Moriah a magnificent temple to the Lord. Jerusalem 
then grew rapidly in importance and prosperity till 
the revolt of the ten tribes, in the time of Rehoboam, 
when its splendor must have suffered a partial eclipse. 
" Three times in a year shall all thy males appear be- 
fore the Lord thy God in the place which he shall 
choose." (Deut. xvi. 16.) While all Israel was united 
under David and under Solomon, Jerusalem was the 
chosen place for the celebration of the great annual 
festivals, and was much frequented by the Israelites 
from all sections. " Whither the tribes go up, the tribes 
of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give 
thanks unto the name of the Lord." (Psalm cxxii. 4.) 
" The city which I have chosen out of all the tribes 
of Israel." (1 Kings xi. 32.) Jeroboam made Shechem 
the capital of his kingdom of the ten tribes, and for- 
bade his subjects to go up to Jerusalem to the great 
festivals. From this time Jerusalem was the capital 
of Judah and Benjamin only. 

" In the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar 
king of Babylon, Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, 
burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and 
all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



I6l 



burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, 
that were with the captain of the guard, brake down 
the walls of Jerusalem round about." (2 Kings xxv.) 
The houses were at that time evidently of wood. 
Nebuzar-adan carried away to Babylon the mass of the 
people of Jerusalem, and the city was thus left almost 
desolate during the seventy years' captivity. The city 
was rebuilt after the return of the Jews from the cap- 
tivity of Babylon ; and reached such a degree of pros- 
perity that, about three hundred years before Christ, 
its population is put down at one hundred and twenty 
thousand by Hecataeus of Abdera, who accompanied 
Alexander the Great on his Eastern expedition.* The 
city was surprised by Ptolemy, king of Egypt (b.c. 324), 
on the sabbath-day, when the Jews would not fight, 
and many of the inhabitants were carried away into 
Egypt. Jerusalem suffered greatly in the time of 
Antiochus Epiphanes, about B.C. 168. This king at- 
tempted to bring the Jewish people over to heathen- 
ism, and his officer, Apollonius, with twenty-two 
thousand men, plundered the city and razed its walls. 
A statue of Jupiter was set up in the Temple, and the 
observances of the Jewish law abolished, and its ob- 
servers persecuted ; Jerusalem was deserted, and the 
daily sacrifice was entirely discontinued. 

The Maccabees defeated the Syrian power and 
established the independence of their country; and 
Jerusalem remained free until Pompey captured it, b.c. 
63, when it passed into the hands of the Romans. In 
the year B.C. 43, Antipater built the walls of Jerusalem, 
which Pompey had demolished. Soon after this, 



* In Euseb. Prep. Evan., lib. ix., cap. 4. 
14* 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Herod the Great rebuilt the city and temple of Jeru- 
salem with great splendor. " Forty and six years 
was this temple in building." (John ii. 20.) Pliny re- 
marks that Jerusalem was " by far the most splendid 
city of the whole East, and not of Judea only." 
Josephus, in his " Wars of the Jews," gives us an 
elaborate description of the Jewish temple as it was 
just before it was destroyed by the Romans under 
Titus. " Now, this temple, as I have already said, 
was built upon a strong hill. At first, the plain upon 
the top was hardly sufficient for the holy house and 
the altar, for the ground about it was very uneven and 
like a precipice ; but when king Solomon, who was 
the person that built the temple, had built a wall to it 
on the east side, there was then added one cloister, 
founded upon a bank cast up for it, and on the other 
parts the holy house stood naked ; but in future ages 
the people added new banks, and the hill became a 
larger plain. They then broke down the wall on the 
north side, and took in as much as sufficed afterward 
for the compass of the entire temple ; and when they 
had built walls on three sides of the temple round 
about, from the bottom of the hill, and had performed 
a work that was greater than could be hoped for (in 
which work long ages were spent by them, as well as 
all their sacred treasures were exhausted, which were 
still replenished by those tributes which were sent to 
God from the whole habitable earth), they then en- 
compassed their upper courts with cloisters, as well 
as they [afterward] did the lowest [court of the] 
temple. The lowest part of this was erected to the 
height of three hundred cubits, and in some places 
more; yet did not the entire depth of the foun- 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



163 



dations appear, for they brought earth and filled up 
the valleys, as being desirous to make them on a level 
with the narrow streets of the city, wherein they made 
use of stones of forty cubits in magnitude ; for the 
great plenty of money they then had, and the liberality 
of the people, made this attempt of theirs succeed to 
an incredible degree; and what could not be so much 
as hoped for, as ever to be accomplished, was by per- 
severance and length of time brought to perfection. 
Now, for the works that were above these foundations, 
these were not unworthy of such foundations ; for all 
the cloisters were double, and the pillars to them be- 
longing were twenty-five cubits in height, and sup- 
ported the cloisters. These pillars were of one entire 
stone, each of them, and that stone was white marble; 
and the roofs were adorned with cedar, curiously 
graven. The natural magnificence and excellent pol- 
ish, and the harmony of the joints in these cloisters, 
afforded a prospect that was very remarkable; nor 
was it on the outside adorned with any work of the 
painter or engraver. The cloisters [of the utmost 
court] were in breadth thirty cubits, while the entire 
compass of it was, by measure, six furlongs, including 
the Tower of Antonia ; these entire courts that were 
exposed to the air were laid with stones of all sorts. 
When you go through these [first] cloisters unto the 
second [court of the] temple, there was a partition 
made of stone all around, whose height was three 
cubits ; its construction was very elegant : upon it 
stood pillars, at equal distances from one another, de- 
claring the law of purity, — some in Greek and some 
in Roman letters, — that ' no foreigner should go 
within that sanctuary ;' for that second [court of the] 



164 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



temple was called ' the sanctuary,' and was ascended 
by fourteen steps from the first court. This court was 
foursquare, and had a wall about it peculiar to itself; the 
height of its buildings, although it was on the outside 
forty cubits, was hidden by the steps, and on the in- 
side that height was but twenty-five cubits ; for it be- 
ing built over against a higher part of the hill with 
steps, it was no further to be entirely discerned within, 
being covered by the hill itself. Beyond these four- 
teen steps there was the distance of ten cubits : this 
was all plain, whence there were other steps, each of 
five cubits a-piece, that led to the gates, which gates 
on the north and sides were eight, on each of those 
sides four, and, of necessity, two on the east ; for since 
there was a partition built for the women on that side, 
as the proper place wherein they were to worship, 
there was a necessity of a second gate for them : this 
gate was cut out of its wall over against the first gate. 
There was also on the other sides one southern and 
one northern gate, through which was a passage into 
the court of the women ; for as to the other gates, the 
women were not allowed to pass through them ; nor 
when they went through their own gate could they go 
beyond their own wall. This place was allotted to the 
women of our own country, and of other countries, 
provided they were of the same nation, and that 
equally. The western part of this court had no gate 
at all, but the wall was built entire on that side; but 
then the cloisters which were betwixt the gates ex- 
tended from the wall inward, before the chambers ; for 
they were supported by very fine and large pillars. 
These cloisters were single, and, excepting their mag- 
nitude, were no ways inferior to those of the lower court. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



" Noav nine of these gates were on every side covered 
over with gold and silver, as were the jambs of their 
doors and their lintels ; but there was one gate that 
was without the inward court of the holy house, 
which was of Corinthian brass, and greatly excelled 
those that were only covered over with silver and 
gold. Each gate had two doors, whose height was, 
severally, thirty cubits, and their breadth fifteen. 
However, they had large spaces within of thirty cubits, 
and had on each side rooms, and those, both in 
breadth and in length, built like towers, and their 
height was above forty cubits. Two pillars did also 
support these rooms, and were in circumference twelve 
cubits. Now the magnitude of the other gates were 
equal one to another; but that over the Corinthian 
gate, which opened on the east, over against the holy 
house itself, was much larger; for its height was fifty 
cubits ; and its doors were forty cubits ; and it was 
adorned after a most costly manner, as having much 
richer and thicker plates of silver and gold upon them 
than the other. These nine gates had that silver and 
gold poured upon them by Alexander, the father of 
Tiberias. Now there were fifteen steps, which led 
away from the wall of the court of the women to this 
greater gate ; whereas, those that led thither from the 
other gates were five steps shorter. 

" As to the holy house itself, which was placed in the 
midst [of the inner court], that most sacred part of the 
temple, it was ascended by twelve steps ; and in front 
its height and its breadth were equal, and each one 
hundred cubits, though it was behind forty cubits 
narrower ; for on its front, it had what may be styled 
shoulders on each side, that passed twenty cubits 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



further. Its first gate was seventy cubits high, and 
twenty-five cubits broad ; for it represented the uni- 
versal visibility of heaven, and that it cannot be ex- 
cluded from any place. Its front was covered with 
gold all over, and through it the first part of the house 
that was more inward did all of it appear ; which as 
it was very large, so did all the parts about the more 
inward gate appear to shine to those that saw them ; 
but then, as the entire house was divided into two 
parts within, it was only the first part of it that was 
open to our view. Its height extended all along to 
ninety cubits in height, and its length was fifty cubits, 
and its breadth twenty ; but that gate which was at 
this end of the first part of the house was, as we have 
already observed, all over covered with gold, as was 
its whole wall about it; it had also golden vines 
above it, from which clusters of grapes hung as tall 
as a man's height; but then this house, as it was 
divided into two parts, the inner part was lower than 
the appearance of the outer, and had golden doors of 
fifty-five cubits altitude, and sixteen in breadth ; but 
before these doors there was a veil of equal largeness 
with the doors. It was a Babylonian curtain embroid- 
ered with blue, and fine linen, and scarlet, and purple, 
and of a contexture that was truly wonderful. Nor 
was this mixture of color without its mystical inter- 
pretation, but was a kind of image of the universe ; 
for by the scarlet there seemed to be enigmatically 
signified fire, by the fine flax the earth, by the blue 
the air, and by the purple the sea ; two of them hav- 
ing their colors the foundation of this resemblance; 
but the fine flax and the purple have their own origin 
for that foundation, the earth producing the one, and 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



the sea the other. This curtain had also embroidered 
upon it all that was mystical in the heavens, except- 
ing that of the [twelve] signs, representing living 
creatures. 

" When any person entered into the temple, its floor 
received them. This part of the temple, therefore, 
was in height sixty cubits, and its length the same ; 
whereas, its breadth was but twenty cubits ; but still 
that sixty cubits in length was divided again, and the 
first part of it cut off at forty cubits, and had in it 
three things that were very wonderful, and famous 
among all mankind; the candlestick, the table [of 
show-bread], and the altar of incense. Now the seven 
lamps signified the seven planets ; for so many there 
were springing out of the candlestick. Now the 
twelve loaves that were upon the table signified the 
circle of the zodiac and the year; but the altar of in- 
cense, by its thirteen kinds of sweet-smelling spices, 
w r ith which the sea replenished it, signified that God 
is the possessor of all things that are both in the unin- 
habitable and in the inhabited parts of the earth, and 
that they all are to be dedicated to his use. But the 
inmost part of the temple of all was twenty cubits. 
This was also separated from the outer part by a veil. 
In this there was nothing at all. It was inaccessible 
and inviolable, and not to be seen by any; and was 

called the Holy of Holies The whole height 

amounted to one hundred cubits. 

" Now the outward face of the temple in its front 
wanted nothing that was likely to surprise either 
men's minds or their eyes ; for it was covered all over 
with plates of gold, of great weight, and, at the first 
rising of the sun, reflected back a very fiery splendor, 



i68 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



and made those who forced themselves to look upon 
it, to turn their eyes away, just as they would have 
done at the sun's own rays. But this temple appeared 
to strangers when they were at a distance, like a 
mountain covered with snow ; for as to those parts of 
it that were not gilt, they were exceeding white. On 
its top it had spikes with sharp points, to prevent any 
pollution of it by birds sitting upon it. Of its stones, 
some of them were forty-five cubits in length, five in 
height, and six in breadth. Before this temple stood 
the altar, fifteen cubits high, and equal both in length 
and breadth ; each of which dimensions was fifty 
cubits. The figure it was built in was a square, and 
it had corners like horns ; and the passage up to it 
was by an insensible acclivity. It was formed with- 
out any iron tool, nor did any such iron tool so much 
as touch it at any time. There was a wall of parti- 
tion, about a cubit in height, made of fine stones, and 
so as to be grateful to the sight ; this encompassed 
the holy house and the altar, and kept the people that 
were on the outside off from the priests."* 

The population of Jerusalem, at the time of Christ, 
could not have been more than one hundred and fifty 
thousand or one hundred and seventy thousand at 
most. It covered scarcely a square mile ; comparing 
this area with that of Damascus and Smyrna, both 
Oriental cities, we find that it is considerably less than 
that of Damascus, — the population of which is from 
one hundred and eighty to two hundred thousand, — 
hardly as great as that of Smyrna, whose population 
is about one hundred and fifty thousand. Its area 



* Book v., chap. 5. 



AND THE HOL Y LA AD. 



1 69 



was about that of Venice at present, which has a popu- 
lation of a hundred and thirty thousand. This town 
is very compactly built, with narrow streets and high 
houses. The population of Jerusalem, as we have 
already seen, was estimated by Hecataeus of Abdera, 
something more than 300 B.C., to be one hundred and 
twenty thousand. The numbers given by Josephus 
are doubtless greatly exaggerated ; he states the num- 
ber of persons that perished in the siege of Jerusalem 
by Titus to be one million one hundred thousand ; and 
to show the possibility of this, he states that in the 
time of Nero, at the celebration of the passover, two 
million seven hundred thousand persons feasted to- 
gether in the city. But this number would be abso- 
lutely impossible. Tacitus states the whole number 
of those who were besieged — men, women, and 
children — in the city by Titus to be six hundred 
thousand, which is not improbable.* 

Titus, a.d. 69, advanced with a force of about eighty 
thousand men against Jerusalem, and pitched his camp 
on the hill Scopus, about three-fourths of a mile north 
of the northern wall of the ancient city. "Titus drew 
a line of circumvallation round the city, at a distance of 
one or two furlongs from the walls, which was com- 
pleted by three days' continuous labor of the whole 
army." Famine, pestilence, murder, and robbery 
raged in the city, from which Titus would not allow 
the inhabitants to depart and pass through the Roman 
lines. Jerusalem fell, after a siege of five months and 
a half, on the 8th of the month Gorpiaeus, — the first 



* " Multitudinem obsessorum, omnis-setatis, virile ac muliebre secus, 
sexcenta millia fuisse accepimus." Hist., lib. v., cap. 13. 

15 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



part of September probably, — in the year 70. Ninety- 
seven thousand Jews were sold captive into different 
nations ; the walls of the city and the houses were de- 
molished, and the Temple laid in ashes. Three towers 
only were spared, — Hippicus, Mariamne, and Phase- 
lus, — and the wall on the west side of the city was 
left as a protection to the Roman garrison. " All the 
rest of the wall was so thoroughly laid even with the 
ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that 
there was left nothing to make those who came thither 
believe it had ever been inhabited." (Josephus.) Eu- 
sebius informs us that before Titus threw his army 
around the city, the Christians escaped to Pella, be- 
yond Jordan. When our Saviour beheld Jerusalem 
and wept over it, he uttered the prediction that there 
should not be left one stone upon another (Greek, 
"stone upon stone"), and when he was shown the 
buildings of the Temple he declared that " there shall 
not be left here one stone upon another that shall not 
be thrown down." Of the Temple nothing remains 
but some foundation stones. The prophecy has been 
substantially and almost literally fulfilled ; and we see 
"Jerusalem trodden down of the Gentiles" still. We 
may remark here what we have observed elsewhere : 
that in a short, pithy, prophetic declaration we are 
not to expect all the precision of a geometrical defi- 
nition or of an algebraical equation. To stop in the 
midst of lofty prophecy and make minute exceptions 
to the general statement, would be out of place. 
Imagine our Saviour qualifying his prophecy with a 
remark of this kind : " But the enemy will leave the 
western wall of the city and several towers, some parts 
of the foundation of the Temple, and a small portion 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



171 



of the eastern wall near the Temple; also a few houses 
here and there." Of the western wall of Jerusalem, 
nothing remains ; its towers, with the exception of the 
lower part of Hippicus, have all disappeared. 

After the subjugation of the Jews (a.d. 135) — who, 
under Barchochebas, an impostor, had rebelled against 
the Romans — Jerusalem was made a Roman colony, 
and named, after ^Elius Adrianus, ^Elia Capitolina, 
and a temple to Jupiter was built on Mount Moriah. 
The Jews were forbidden, on the pain of death, to 
enter Jerusalem. 

When Constantine obtained the government of the 
Roman world, and embraced Christianity, he so far 
revoked the edict existing against the Jews as to allow 
them to enter the Holy City once a year, to wail over 
the destruction of the Temple. Pilgrimages to the 
Holy City now became common, and Constantine 
gave orders for the building of the Church of the 
Holy Sepulchre. 

In the year 614, the Persians having defeated the 
army of the Emperor Heraclius, captured Jerusalem, 
slaughtered thousands of the inhabitants, and de- 
stroyed some of the finest churches. But in the follow- 
ing year the city was restored to the emperor. Jeru- 
salem next fell into the hands of the celebrated Caliph 
Omar, after a long siege. He entered the city in his 
garment of camel's hair, and conducted himself with 
much generous forbearance. He gave orders for the 
building of the mosque bearing his name, on Mount 
Moriah. 

Jerusalem passed into the hands of the Turcomans 
in the year 1073. These barbarous Turks treated the 
Christian pilgrims with great severity ; and piteous 



172 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



tales of their sufferings in the Holy City aroused the 
sympathies of Europe, and gave the first impulse to 
the expeditions of the Crusaders. But while these 
expeditions were on foot, Jerusalem passed over to the 
Egyptian caliphs. The Crusaders, under Godfrey of 
Bouillon, after a siege of forty days, captured Jeru- 
salem on the 15th of July, 1099, an< ^ ma de a dreadful 
slaughter of the Mohammedans, without regard to 
age or sex; the closing stanza of Tasso's "Jerusalem 
Delivered" thus beautifully refers to Godfrey of 
Bouillon : — 

" Thus conquered Godfrey; and as yet there glowed 
A flush of glory in the fulgent West, 
To the freed city, the once loved abode 
Of Christ, the pious Chief and armies press'd, 
Armed as he was ; and in his sanguine vest, 
With all his knights in solemn cavalcade, 
He reached the Temple; there, supremely bless'd, 
Hung up his arms, the banner'd spoils display'd, 
And at the sacred tomb his vow'd devotions paid." 

Godfrey became king of Jerusalem. He was buried 
in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, — I was shown 
his sword and spurs in the church. Jerusalem re- 
mained in the power of the Christians for eighty-eight 
years, till the Sultan Saladin wrested it from them in 
the year 11 87; from which time till the year 1229 — 
when it was delivered by treaty to the Christians — it 
continued in the possession of the Mohammedans. In 
] 243 the city was again captured, and reverted to the 
Mohammedans, — who still hold it. It is reckoned a 
part of the Ottoman Empire. Jerusalem is said to 
have been captured seventeen times in all. 

Before leaving Jerusalem I paid a visit, in company 
with Mr. Hay, to the French princess who resides on 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



i/3 



the south side of the Mount of Olives, not far from the 
summit. Her residence adjoins a church which she 
is building, and in which she is to be buried. The 
church is of the Oriental style, erected around an open 
court or square. 



15* 



174 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



CHAPTER VII. 

Departure for Nablus. — Scopus. — Bethel. — Groves of Fig-trees. — Ar- 
rival in Sinjil. — An Unpleasant Night. — A Visit to Shiloh. — Arrival- 
in Nablus. — Samaritan Worship. — A Visit to Jacob's Well. — Ascent 
of Mount Gerizim. — Interview with the High-Priest of the Samari- 
tans; he says he expects a Messiah ; his views on other subjects ; 
he thinks that he alone of all men is right. — From Nablus to the 
Ruins of Samaria. — Jenin. — Mountains of Gilboa, Zerin (Jezreel). — 
The Valley of Jezreel. — The Great Plain of Esdraelon. — The Brook 
Kishon. — Arrival in Nazareth ; the beauty of the town; the mag- 
nificent scenery in its vicinity. — Mount Tabor. — Arrival at Tiberias. 

The afternoon before leaving Jerusalem our consul 
made a bargain with an Arab to take me and trunk to 
Nablus for twenty-five francs. I paid five of them that 
afternoon, and the balance next morning before start- 
ing. My understanding was, that we were to leave 
very early in the morning, and reach Nablus on the 
evening of the same day. But my donkey-driver did 
not come with the donkey, and the horse for myself, 
till it was quite late, and we did not leave Jerusalem till 
about half-past seven o'clock. My trunk was strapped 
to the side of the donkey. We passed out of the Jaffa 
gate, and were soon stopped by a custom-house offi- 
cer to have the baggage examined. Backshish of 
about a franc saved me from this annoyance. We 
crossed over the hill Scopus, from which we beheld 
Jerusalem for the last time, and passed between Shafat 
on our left and Tuleil El Ful (Gibeah) on our right. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



175 



The morning was rainy. The clouds came from the 
west, and the rain descended gently. I saw on my 
right Beeroth and Bethel, — passing very near the 
latter place. Here I saw a large number of stones, 
and some vultures near, on the rocks. Not long after 
this, we passed through a large district of fig-trees, 
closely planted. Some of these fig-trees had been dug 
about, reminding us of the language of Christ : " Let 
it [the fig-tree] alone this year also, till I shall dig about 
it." (Luke xiii. 8.) The soil appeared very rich, and I 
saw no indication of manure around the trees, which, 
in this case, was not necessary. After this w r e passed 
along wadies for a long distance, without having any- 
thing special to attract attention, except a quite well- 
dressed man — a mail-carrier — that we met, who had a 
bell strapped at each knee; these bells made a tinkling 
noise as he walked. At length we turned up a steep 
hill to the left, at the top of which is situated the 
village of Sinjil. My donkey-driver, without saying 
anything, — for he spoke no English, — turned into this 
village and stopped, against my protest, at the house of 
a fellah. If an Arab donkey-driver can find a place for 
his horse or donkey, little does he care about the trav- 
eler he is conducting. He puts his hand on the floor 
where the traveler is to lie, and repeats the word 
"tyib," good. It was near two p.m. when I reached 
the place. The building was of one story. Our ani- 
* mals and ourselves entered at the same door. The 
floor of dirt on one side was raised several feet higher 
than the other side. This higher side the family of 
the fellah and ourselves occupied : our animals took 
the lower part. The noise of our animals and the 
crying of the children did not allow me to sleep, and 



176 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



I spent a most unpleasant night. These feliahs, or 
fellahin, live in the town, and cultivate the country 
around. The accommodations furnished me were 
very poor : no bed, no chair, no table, was to be seen. 
They cooked me two or three eggs in the evening. 

Next morning, taking the fellah with whom we 
stopped for our guide, we started at sunrise for Shiloh, 
the place where the tabernacle was pitched in the days 
of Joshua and of the judges. This place is now called 
by the natives Seilun (pronounced Sayloon). Its 
position is accurately given in Judges xxi. 19: "On 
the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the high- 
way that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on 
the south of Lebonah." Dr. Robinson identified the 
site in 1838. Passing down the steep hill from Sinjil, 
we entered a valley and then a circular basin a mile or 
more in diameter, in the middle of which, on rising 
ground, stands the village of Turmas. This basin is 
perhaps the place called, in Joshua, Taanath Shiloh, 
Circle of Shiloh. Turning from this place to the 
northeast, ascending between the opening, before we 
reached the top of the hill, we came upon the remains 
of an old stone building, — hills surrounding the site, — 
which our guide pointed out as Seilun. Among the 
remains, I saw some broken columns, and two capitals 
of Corinthian architecture. Above a door to the 
north, on the outside I observed in bas-relief the 
representation of an amphora and two wreaths, and 
two other objects resembling tables. Near these 
ruins, they were engaged in plowing, and the plow 
was left, to obtain from me some backshish ; but as I 
had no suitable change to give, nothing was got. 
Dr. Robinson found other remains on the top of the 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



177 



hill, which he considers the main site of the ancient 
town ; this may be true. Our guide did not take us 
to these. 

Here, then, the tabernacle was pitched in the days 
of Joshua, when the land was subdued before Israel, 
and here the ark of God rested, and the tribes assem- 
bled at the great festivals. Here the Lord revealed 
himself to Samuel, and denounced judgments upon 
the house of Eli. After the ark was captured by the 
Philistines, Shiloh lost all its importance. In the 
time of Jeremiah, the place was quite desolate : " But 
go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where 
I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for 
the wickedness of my people Israel" (chap. vii. 12). 
" So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent 
which he placed among men" (Psalm lxxviii. 60). The 
site of Shiloh is about a mile and a half or two miles 
northeast of Sinjil. 

We returned to the great road near Sinjil, and fol- 
lowing it a short distance, we descended a very heavy 
hill into a deep valley, and saw close to the road on 
our right a well of water. We soon saw on our left, 
but little elevated, Lubban (Lebonah). All this country 
is better cultivated than that near Jerusalem. Soon 
after this we entered a long valley, El-Mukhra, which 
extends beyond Nablus. This field was set in wheat. 
We passed Beida and Awerta on our right, and Ha- 
wara on our left. Mount Gerizim became visible to 
us at a distance of several miles. We entered the 
Valley of Nablus, between Gerizim and Ebal, and after 
traveling about a mile, we entered through a gate in 
the wall into the town of Nablus. On entering: the 
gate on the northwest side, we were stopped by the 



i/8 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



custom-house officers to have the baggage examined. 
I had been quite unwell the whole day, and before I 
left Jerusalem I felt that I was growing bilious. My 
trunk was tied up with ropes and fastened to the 
donkey, and loosening and opening it was a slow, and 
to me a painful process. My donkey-driver was to 
take me to the convent in Nablus. But this convent, 
having been recently established, was unknown to 
him, and to the inhabitants generally I should judge. 
He put me down at a locanda, hotel ; I soon saw 
that this was no convent. But what was I to do ? 
Where could I get information ? I found a man who 
could speak German ; he directed us to a house where 
tanning was carried on, but here a boy went with us 
to the convent. Knocking at the door that opens 
into the street, we soon gained admittance. The 
accommodations were not extensive, and the priest 
was not in ; the steward, as I shall call him, received 
me, and got me something to eat. In the room in 
which I ate was two or three beds, separated from the 
other part by curtains. The priest returned in the 
afternoon. A boy from the convent went with me to 
the house of Rev. El-Karey, to whom I had a letter of 
introduction from our consul in Jerusalem. Rev. El- 
Karey is an Arab, born in Nablus, but educated in 
England ; he married an English lady. He is the mis- 
sionary of the United Palestinian Society of England. 
There is nothing sectarian in him, though in principle 
he is a liberal Baptist. He received me very kindly, 
and showed me every attention. As it was Saturday 
afternoon, we hastened off to the synagogue of the 
Samaritans to see their worship. We found forty or fifty 
men and boys engaged in prayer. They seemed very 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



1/9 



earnest. Rev. El-Karey introduced me to the high- 
priest of the Samaritans, whom we met there. Mr. 
El-Karey regards him as the embodiment of Samari- 
tan learning. He was about sixty years of age. 

On Sunday morning I heard Rev. El-Karey preach 
an earnest, and perhaps I should call it an eloquent, 
sermon in Arabic, of which I understood just about five 
w T ords. His hearers were scarcely a dozen, of which 
the native portion sat on mats on the floor, with 
shoes off. 

On Sunday afternoon I went in company with Revs. 
El-Karey and Mcintosh to Jacob's Well, about a mile 
distant at the east end of the valley. By letting peb- 
bles fall into the well, and observing the time of fall- 
ing, two and a half seconds apparently, I inferred the 
well might be a hundred feet deep ; but it has been 
several times actually measured, and found to be over 
seventy feet deep, fully justifying the language of the 
Samaritan woman, " the well is deep." Around the 
mouth of the well is an artificial elevation. The 
upper part of the well for about eight or ten feet is 
perhaps eight feet wide, then the entrance to the 
lower part is almost closed with a stone. The well 
is now dry. It is evident that in ancient times there 
was more rain in Palestine than there is now. That 
this is the identical well at which oar Saviour stopped, 
no one, so far as we know, doubts. The site speaks 
for itself, and tradition, in which, as Dr. Robinson 
remarks, Jews, Christians, and Mohammedans agree, 
confirms it. Here, then, we can feel assured that our 
blessed Redeemer once sat and taught, and uttered 
that profoundest passage in the New Testament, with 
which paganism has nothing to compare : " God is a 



i8o 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Spirit : and they that worship him must worship in 
spirit and in truth" (John iv. 24). Close by the well, 
on the north side, is Mount Gerizim ; " our fathers 
worshiped in this mountain," said the woman of 
Samaria ; " and ye (Jews) say, that in Jerusalem is the 
place where men ought to worship." "Jesus saith 
unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when 
ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusa- 
lem, worship the Father." East of the well, close to 
it, and lying but little lower than it, is a valley run- 
ning north and south, which was set in wheat when 
we were there, and from time immemorial has doubt- 
less been sowed with this grain. To this field our 
Saviour beautifully alludes in his remarks to the 
apostles at the same well : " Say not ye, There are yet 
four months, and then cometh harvest ? behold, I 
say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the 
fields ; for they are white already to harvest." We 
read at the well, with some remarks, the part of the 
fourth chapter of John's gospel, in which the con- 
versation of our Saviour occurs. The language 
seemed very natural. 

It has seemed to some to be singular that the 
woman should have come so far to draw water, when 
there was abundance of water in the town. But the 
ancient town of Shechem probably stood nearer to the 
well than the modern one; nor is it certain that the 
woman came from Shechem. It has been supposed, 
and not without some reason, that Sychar is to be 
identified with Askar, the ruins of which are found on 
the southeast shoulder of Mount Ebal. And it seems 
to us that if the well-known town Shechem had been 
intended, John would not have been so careful to 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



181 



state, " near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave 
to his son Joseph." 

In confirmation of this, it may be observed that 
some Greek manuscripts write the name Esychar.* 
Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, not more than thirty miles 
from Jacob's well, remarks, — in the fourth century, — 
respecting Sychar : " in front of the new city near the 
place which Jacob gave his son Joseph, in which 
Christ, according to John, discoursed with the Sama- 
ritan woman at the fountain ; and still now it — the 
city — is shown." But the fact that the well was Ja- 
cob's might have been a sufficient reason for the 
woman's drawing water from it, even if she had water 
more convenient. 

From Jacob's Well, we went to the Wely, or tomb, 
of Joseph, an inclosure of wall without roof. It is in 
the middle of the valley, between Gerizim and Ebal. 
Whether Joseph's bones were buried here or not is 
difficult to say ; yet the burial-place could not have 
been far from this spot. From Joseph's tomb, we re- 
turned to Nablus. Monday morning, we paid, in com- 
pany with Rev. El-Karey, a visit to the judge of 
Nablus ; we did not find him at home, however, but 
his son and brother were there. They treated us very 
kindly, and brought us coffee. Rev. El-Karey gave 
the judge's brother, who was blind, an account of my 
method of ascertaining the depth of Jacob's Well by 
letting pebbles fall into it, and noting the time re- 
quired in their descent ; he seemed greatly interested 
in this. We also visited the house of the high-priest 
of the Samaritans. He was not at home ; but they 



* See Tischeiulorf 's eighth critical edition of" Foul- Gospels." 
16 



182 



A JOURNEY TO EG ITT 



showed us the five Books of Moses in a large volume, 
written in three languages, Samaritan, Chaldee, and 
Arabic, on the same page, in the Samaritan characters. 

On Monday afternoon I went, in company with 
Rev. Mr. Mcintosh, to the summit of Mount Gerizim. 
The road is quite steep, and generally rough and 
stony. We rode horseback part of the way. The top 
of Gerizim is quite broad. Not far from the summit, 
on the south side, was some grain growing ; but, gen- 
erally speaking, the mountain is sterile. I observed 
on the summit the remains of breastworks, and the 
flat rock was pointed out to me where the Samaritans 
kill the sacrificial lamb at the passover. The Samari- 
tans assert that the tabernacle was pitched on this 
rock. Just below the summit I saw the place where 
the Samaritans roast the sacrificial lamb, and where 
they encamp on the occasion. Mount Ebal appeared 
to be about one hundred feet higher than Gerizim. 
It was on Mount Ebal that the Lord commanded the 
Israelites to build — when they should enter the 
promised land — an altar of stones, and to offer there- 
on burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and to write 
upon the stones all the words of the law : Deut. xxvii. 
4-8. Here the Samaritan Pentateuch has Gerizim 
instead of Ebal, which change the Samaritans seem 
to have made to justify themselves in building their 
temple on the top of Gerizim. On Gerizim six tribes 
were to stand to bless the people, and on Ebal six 
tribes to pronounce the curse upon the disobedient. 
These commands were carried out by Joshua: Joshua 
viii. 30-34. 

The valley at Nablus, between the foot of Gerizim 
and Ebal, is about a quarter of a mile wide, or per- 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



183 



haps, something more. The view from the top of 
Gerizim was wide, but I have no recollection of hav- 
ing seen Mount Hermon* from that point. 

We returned the same afternoon to Nablus. That 
evening, the high-priest of the Samaritans paid us a 
visit at the house of the Rev. El-Karey. There were 
present, Revs. El-Karey and Mcintosh, Mr. Barker, 
mineralogist for the Turkish government, and the 
son of the judge of the town, a Mohammedan. In 
our interview with the high-priest, Rev. El-Karey 
acted as interpreter, the priest's vernacular being 
Arabic. 

I asked the high-priest if he expected a Messiah ; 
he answered that he did, and that he based that ex- 
pectation on Deuteronomy xviii. 15 : "The Lord thy 
God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of 
thee, of thy brethren, like unto me ; unto him ye shall 
hearken," He also referred to one other passage in 
Deuteronomy. He stated that the Messiah would be 
like Moses, but inferior to him, and that he would re- 
affirm the Mosaic law. I asked him how he explained 
Genesis xlix. 10 : " The sceptre shall not depart from 
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until 
Shiloh come," etc. He answered that Solomon was 
the Shiloh with whom the sceptre departed from 
Judah, for Solomon, by his course, had ruined every- 
thing. This explanation is quite ingenious, and well 
suited to the purposes of the Samaritans, who deny 
that the people of Judah, after the time of Solomon, 
were the people of God, and thus the claim of the 
Samaritans to be considered the theocratic people is 
made plausible. Respecting the Hebrew prophets, 
he remarked that they were learned men, but not in- 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



spired, — and that the Jews in many things act contrary 
to the Divine law, in short, are a species of heretics. 

I asked him whether he did not think that Chris- 
tianity would become universal. He answered, " No." 
I then asked him whether he thought Samaritanism 
would become universal ; his answer was, " God 
knows." I pressed him further upon this point, and 
he replied that it would. To this I objected that the 
Mosaic law required all the males to go up three times 
a year (Deut. xvi. 16) to Gerizim, as the Samaritans un- 
derstand it, and that it is impossible for all mankind 
to keep this commandment. He evidently felt the 
force of this, for he indulged in reflections on the 
miraculous conception of Christ, scarcely less indecent 
than those of Paine. The Mohammedan strongly 
objected to the language of the high-priest, but he 
was delighted with my objections to the universality 
of the Mosaic law, which he declared to be conclusive. 
But the high-priest was not to be refuted so easily, 
and he quoted a passage, little to the purpose, that 
the tithes were to be brought every three years, from 
which he inferred that the convening of the people 
every three years might be sufficient. I next referred 
to the prohibition in Exodus xxxv. 3 : " Ye shall kindle 
no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath- 
day," as being suitable enough for a people inhabiting 
a mild country like Palestine, but wholly unfit for a 
people dwelling in a cold country, where they would 
freeze without fire. He replied, he did not think that any 
one would freeze to death in keeping God's command- 
ments, and asked me what the Jews in the United 
States do. I answered, " Employ Christians to kindle 
their fires." 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



I8 5 



He observed that the learned men of his nation in- 
formed him that the Jews crucified Jesus, the son of 
Mary. He said he thought it a strange idea that 
learned men had taken up, that Jesus was the son of 
God. I asked him if he did not think that Christ had 
exhibited supernatural power; he said he did not 
know, but the Mohammedan taking exception to this 
statement declared that he had. He considered him- 
self alone to be right, and all the rest of the world 
wrong. I opposed to him the judgment of the 
learned world, but he said that learning was of no use 
in judging of matters of inspiration, and that Abra- 
ham once stood alone. 

I asked him about the distinguished Christian 
father, Justin Martyr, who lived in Nablus in the first 
half of the second century. He replied that he had 
never heard of him. 

He stated that the number of the Samaritans is one 
hundred and fifty, and that their translation of the 
Pentateuch into Chaldee was made eighteen hundred 
years ago, and the Arabic version about six hundred 
years ago. 

He expressed a wish that two hundred Americans 
or American families (for I do not remember which 
expression he used) would come to Nablus and settle. 
I expressed to him the pleasure I felt in being permitted 
to take him by the hand, the representative of the 
ancient Samaritans. 

But it was a singular spectacle to see the high-priest 
of a people who had dwindled down to one hundred 
and fifty, shut up in a narrow vale between Gerizim 
and Ebal, — a striking emblem of his intellectual 
and moral condition, — taking the ground that he 

16* 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



alone of all mankind was right, and talking about the 
universality of Samaritanism ! Yet I could not but 
admire the man's pluck. 

In personal appearance the high-priest was quite 
prepossessing. He was of medium size, his face 
rather round and full, and his complexion quite fair ; 
there was nothing in him that would indicate a Jewish 
origin. He was dressed in a loose robe. He has a 
son, thirteen or fourteen years of age, who was to be 
married in a few months. 

Rev. El-Karey bargained with him to have tran- 
scribed for me, from their Chaldee translation, the first 
ten verses of the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis, and 
also a copy of their alphabet. At first, he demanded 
several pounds for them, but at length consented to 
furnish them for about a dollar and a quarter. The 
alphabet differs greatly from any printed Samaritan 
alphabet that I have seen. The language of their 
Targum differs both from the Chaldee of the Targum 
of Onkelos and the Peshito Syriac. 

The Samaritans are descendants principally of the 
heathen tribes which the king of Assyria transplanted 
into Samaria, in the place of the ten tribes that he had 
carried away captive. (2 Kings xvii. 24.) But it is 
not likely that the king of Assyria actually carried 
away captive all the Israelites. The remnants of the 
ten tribes were incorporated with these heathen. A 
priest was sent by the king of Assyria to instruct them 
in the knowledge of the law of Moses. The copy 
of the law of Moses obtained from the Jewish priests 
was the basis of the present Samaritan Pentateuch, 
which differs but little from that of the Jews, but 
is not of equal authority. They have no other 



AND THE HOI. Y LAND. 



187 



books of the Old Testament canon. When the 
Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity, and were 
engaged in building the temple at Jerusalem, the Sa- 
maritans offered to assist them ; but their offer was 
promptly rejected by the Jews, who could not ac- 
knowledge their claim to be considered a part of the 
holy people. From this source sprung the enmity ex- 
isting between the Samaritans and Jews. Alexander 
the Great gave Sanballat, a Persian satrap, permission 
to build a temple on Mount Gerizim, for the Samari- 
tans. Sanballat appointed his son-in-law, Manasseh, 
brother of Jaddus, — high-priest of the Jews, — priest. 

Josephus tells us that when the Jews were in pros- 
perity, the Samaritans claimed relationship with the 
Jews ; but when the Jews were in adversity, they de- 
nied any affinity with them.* 

In the apocryphal Book of Jesus Sirach, written 
most probably in the first half of the third century B.C., 
the writer says : " There are two nations with which 
my soul is vexed ; and the third is no nation at all : 
those who dwell in the mountain of Samaria, the 
Philistines, and the foolish people dwelling in She- 
chem" (Samaritans). f In the time of our Saviour, the 
enmity between the Jews and Samaritans still con- 
tinued. Of this we have several indications in the 
New Testament. " Say we not well that thou art a 
Samaritan and hast a devil ?" was the language of the 
Jews to Christ ; " the Jews have no dealings with the 
Samaritans." (John iv. 9.) 

The modern town Nablus is the ancient Shechem. 
Shechem is first mentioned in the time of Abraham 



' k " Antiquities," Book ix., chap. 14. 



f Chap. 1. 25. 



i88 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



(Gen. xii. 6). When the Israelites entered the land of 
Canaan, Shechem was appointed one of the cities of 
refuge. Here Joshua assembled the tribes of Israel 
(Josh. xxiv. i); and here, in the time of the judges, 
Abimelech was made king. Shechem was captured, 
and the temple on Gerizim was destroyed by John 
Hyrcanus, B.C. 129.* The town is called Sychem by 
Stephen. (Acts vii. 16.) In one place Josephus calls 
the town Neapolis.f Justin Martyr (a.d. 139), in his 
first "Apology," says of himself : " Of Flavia Nea- 
polis in Palestine, in Syria." This name, given the town 
by the Romans soon after the time of Christ, has come 
down to the present time in the abbreviated, or, rather, 
corrupted form, Nabulus, or Nablus. 

Nablus is built on the south side of the valley at 
the foot of Gerizim. The houses of the town are gen- 
erally high, and the streets narrow. The city has an 
abundance of good water. It is surrounded by a wall. 
The number of its inhabitants is estimated at sixteen 
thousand. The great business of the town is the manu- 
facture of soap, an article much needed in the East. 
West of the town we noticed a large mound of ashes. 

At Nablus we met two gentlemen — an Austrian and 
a Prussian, accompanied by a dragoman — who were 
going to take the same route as ourselves. We made 
arrangements to leave Nablus on Tuesday morning, 
the nth of January. Rev. El-Karey bargained with 
the donkey-driver that brought me from Jerusalem, to 
conduct me to Nazareth, Tiberias, and Caipha: we were 
to reach Caipha on Saturday afternoon. He agreed 



* " Antiquities," Book xiii., chap. 9, \ 16. 
f " Wars," Book iv., chap. 8. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



to give the donkey-driver about fourteen dollars for his 
services and for the donkey and horse. The donkey- 
driver furnished his own provisions and provender for 
the animals. This provender was nothing but straw, cut 
or broken into small pieces, which the animal ate out 
of the sack. In various places of the Old Testament, 
mention is made of straw [tcbcn, broken straw] and 
provender for camels and asses : " One of them opened 
his sack, to give his ass provender, in the inn." (Gen. 
xlii. 27.) " There is both straw and provender for our 
asses." (Jud. xix. 19.) 

We left Xablus at half-past eight a.m. ; the Austrian, 
the Prussian, the dragoman, and myself. The donkey- 
drivers, with the baggage, were to go direct to Jenin. 
We took a road leading through the west end of 
Xablus for the ruins of Samaria. The day was rainy. 
The road was quite rough, and the country also ; 
we observed some trees as we passed along. We 
rode quite rapidly, and reached the site of Samaria 
in an hour or more, a distance of about six miles. 
We approached the site from the northwest. We 
first met with standing columns — about fifteen — on 
the northwest side of the hill on which Samaria was 
built. We could determine neither the order of the 
architecture nor the kind of building to which they 
belonged. Crossing over the west side of the hill, we 
came upon some old ruins, and rode along at the south 
side of the hill, adjoining a field, where we saw, for a 
quarter of a mile or more, columns of stone, standing 
and fallen ; these columns are supposed to have 
formed part of a colonnade. The most of them were 
on the left hand side next to the hill. We next came 
to a small village, on the east side of the hill; the name 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



of the village is Sebustieh, the Arabic name for Se- 
baste. On the edge of the village we saw a large 
building, of large stones ; this must have been the 
Church of St. John, where it is said John the Baptist 
was buried. But as John was beheaded in the prison 
of Machaerus, beyond Jordan, it is very improbable 
that he was buried here. On leaving the village, on 
the north side of the hill, we saw on a level piece of 
ground at the foot of the hill other columns standing. 
We counted, in all, one hundred and five standing 
columns about the hill of Samaria. As we were in 
the company of others, we were dependent upon their 
movements, which prevented us from making a care- 
ful examination here, as our companions did not stay 
long. As the day was cloudy and rainy, we could 
get no good view of distant objects ; and the day was 
to us the least interesting one we spent in Palestine. 

Samaria was founded by Omri about B.C. 925. It 
was purchased from Shemer, the owner, after whom 
the city was named. The location — on the top of a 
fertile hill, lying in a large basin surrounded by high 
hills — was a beautiful one. Samaria continued to be 
the capital of the kingdom of Israel for about two 
hundred years, when the ten tribes were carried away 
captive beyond Babylon. During these two hundred 
years it was the seat of idolatrous worship. It had a 
temple of Baal built by Ahab and destroyed by Jehu. 
(1 Kings xvi. 32; 2 Kings x. 18-28.) John Hyrca- 
nus captured it after a year's siege, and utterly des- 
troyed it, and left no traces of its having been a city.* 
Augustus Caesar bestowed Samaria upon Herod the 



* " Antiquities," Book xiii., chap. 10, § 3. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



I 9 I 



Great, who named it after him Sebaste.* He im- 
ported into the place six thousand colonists, and 
surrounded it with a wall about two and a quarter 
miles in circuit.f Samaria was a flourishing place 
in the time of Christ and the Apostles. In Acts 
viii. 5, it is said that " Philip went down to the city 
of Samaria and preached Christ unto them." The city 
seems to have gone to ruin some time in the second 
or third century, if not in the latter part of the first. 
There is a strong probability that the downfall of 
Samaria began with its destruction by the Jews, a few 
years before Jerusalem was destroyed. Josephus re- 
marks: " Nor could Sebaste, nor Askelon, resist their 
[the Jews'] fierce assaults ; and when these towns 
were burnt they razed Anthedon and Gaza."J 

On leaving the site of Samaria, we pursued a 
northerly course over a very hilly country, and stopped 
at Jeba, a small village on a hill. Our companions here 
took their breakfast in the house of a Christian family, 
who seemed to be very respectable people, and what 
was remarkable, they demanded no backshish, and 
none, so far as I know, was given. We saw no table 
or chairs in the house. Mats were spread upon the 
floor, on which our travelers sat and eat. After halt- 
ing here about half an hour, we continued our journey 
over a hilly country, but which was by no means 
barren, and reached Jenin a little before four p.m. We 
stopped in a large, convenient room on the north side 
of the town. Leaving the street we passed through a 

* Sebaste is the Greek for Augustus. "Antiquities," Book xv., 
chap. 7, | 3 ; 8, IS- 

■\ "Wars," Book i., chap. 21, $ 2. 
% " Wars," Book ii., chap. 18, \ i. 



IQ2 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



gate in the wall that inclosed the yard in front of the 
room. Rev. El-Karey had told my Arab donkey- 
driver at whose house we should stop in Jenin ; but 
he declared that no such person was to be found. 
The favorite word of the Arabs on such occasions is, 
" maflshy — " nowhere," " finished," " played out." My 
companions kindly invited me to sup with them, which 
invitation, under the circumstances, I accepted. Our 
supper was an excellent one, commencing with soup. 

Jenin is situated near the entrance of the great Plain 
of Esdraelon, but little elevated above it. It is doubt- 
less the Ginaea of Josephus, who speaks of it as lying 
in the way from Galilee through Samaria to Jerusa- 
lem, and as " situated on the boundary between Sa- 
maria and" the Great Plain."* And in speaking of 
Samaria, he remarks, it " is situated between Judea 
and Galilee, beginning at a village, Ginsea, in the Great 
Plain. "f This place is probably the En-Gannim of the 
book of Joshua.J The population of the town may 
be put down at about two thousand. 

I spent a very pleasant evening, and slept pretty 
well on a spread upon the floor. Our companions 
had portable iron bedsteads and beds, upon which 
they slept. Next morning after breakfast we left, 
about seven o'clock, for Nazareth. We soon entered 
the great Plain of Esdraelon, and saw the sun rise 
beautifully on our right over the mountains of Gilboa. 
It was upon these mountains that Saul and Jonathan 
were slain. Who does not remember the touching 
strains in which David laments them, though Saul 



* "Antiquities," Book xx., chap. 6, \ I. 

f "Wars," Book iii., chap. 3, 4. % Chap. xix. 21, xxi. 29. 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



193 



had been his deadly foe ? " Ye mountains of Gilboa, 
let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon 
you, nor fields of offerings. For there the shield of 
the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as 
though he had not been anointed with oil."* We 
crossed a dry bed of one of the arms of the brook 
Kishon. A little beyond this, on our right, we saw 
on the hill-top the village Araneh. The ground con- 
tinued to rise — a spur from Gilboa — till we reached 
Zerin, the Jezreel of Scripture. We passed by the 
side of this village, which, perhaps, has not more than 
twenty houses. It stands on the brow of a hill, and 
leaving the village, we descended a steep hill into a 
valley separating this spur from little Mount Hermon. 
This is, in all probability, the Valley of Jezreel. (Hos. 
i. 5.) From Zerin, there is a fine view of the Great 
Plain extending to the northwest. It was near Jezreel 
that Naboth had his vineyard, hard by the palace of 
Ahab, that probably stood on Mount Gilboa and thus 
overlooked the vineyard of which he became enam- 
ored, and which he obtained by his crafty wife's caus- 
ing the death of Naboth. And here, too, dogs ate up 
the wicked Jezebel. On our right we saw Solam, 
identified with Shunem, at the foot of Little Hermon, 
where Elisha raised the widow's son. On our left, in 
the distance, was the mountain range of Carmel. 
Tabor came into view on the northeast, and soon the 
village of Nein (Nain), near the foot of Little Her- 
mon on the north side, where our Saviour raised the 
widow's son. 

The great Plain of Esdraelon is remarkably fertile; 



2 Samuel i. 21. 
17 



i 9 4 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



in some places it was set in wheat, and where not cul- 
tivated it was covered with dead thistles. The name 
Esdraelon, as far as we know, first occurs in Judith,* 
in the form Esdrelon. In the Old Testament, it is 
called the Plain of Megiddo : Zech. xii. 1 1 ; 2 Chron. 
xxxv. 22. Josephus calls it the Great Plain. This 
great plain is in the form of an obtuse-angled trian- 
gle, the longest side of which, on the southwest, is 
about twenty miles, and is bounded by Carmel. On 
the east, the plain is irregular, and an arm of it ex- 
tends northeast between Little Hermon and Tabor. A 
line drawn on the east side through Solam (Shunem) 
would be about fifteen miles long, while its northern 
boundary would be about twelve miles. The area 
of the whole plain, with its arms, may be put down at 
one hundred square miles. This plain is watered by the 
brook Kishon, which we crossed near the north end 
of the plain ; it was flowing from the direction of 
Mount Tabor. The stream was small, but we ob- 
served rushes growing along its banks, which would 
indicate that it is rarely or never dry. It was the 1 2th 
of January, and although it was the rainy reason in 
Palestine the whole amount of water that had fallen 
in a month was not equal to a hard shower of half 
an hour's duration. This Kishon was the only stream 
— with the exception of the one flowing from the 
fountain of Jericho — that we crossed in Palestine. 
Dr. Robinsonf remarks that when he crossed the 
great Plain of Esdraelon, on the i6th of June, 1838, 
not one drop of water did he find in the plain between 
Jenin and Nazareth ; but he adds : " this was a year of 



* Chap. i. 8. 



f " Biblical Researches," vol. ii. 3 363. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



195 



drought" When the hosts of Sisera were defeated by 
Deborah and Barak, " the river of Kishon swept them 
away, that ancient river, the river Kishon."* When 
heavy rains fall, this river is subject to great inunda- 
tions. " During the battle of Mount Tabor, between 
the French and the Arabs, April 16, 1799, many of 
the latter were drowned in their attempting to cross 
a stream coming from Deburieh, which then inundated 
the plain." This was the principal branch of the 
Kishon that we crossed, flowing from Mount Tabor. 

In this great plain, in 1799, Napoleon gained a 
complete victory over the whole Syrian army. 
About a mile and a half before reaching Nazareth, we 
left the Great Plain, and ascended a high, rough hill, 
a little to the left of the conspicuous cliff pointed out 
as the Mount of Precipitation ; from this hill Nazareth 
came into view. On reaching the town, we stopped 
at the convent. 

Nazareth is the most beautiful of all the towns of 
Palestine. It is situated on a hill-slope at the west 
side of a vale, near its northwest end. This vale or 
basin is about three-fourths of a mile long, and about 
three hundred yards wide. The hill on the north, 
and on the northwest side of the vale, is very high ; 
the ridge of hills on the east is considerably lower, 
while those on the south, towards the Great Plain, 
are not much elevated above the vale. In the after- 
noon we took a stroll through the town, and to the 
top of the hill on which the city is built, in search of 
the precipice from which the Jews wished to hurl our 
Saviour ; for we had no faith in the tradition that fixes 



* Judges v. 21. 



196 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



the Mount of Precipitation, about a mile and a half 
south of the town, as the site. We found in the town 
itself a precipice thirty or forty feet high, which is 
likely the true site. From the top of the naked hill 
on whose slope the town is built, I had the finest view 
to be obtained in Palestine. On the northwest, for 
miles, the Mediterranean Sea, with its long line of 
coast, was visible at a distance of fifteen miles or more. 
Towards the west and southwest was Mount Carmel, 
extending into the Mediterranean Sea, forming the 
harbor of Caipha ; in the southwest the sea was again 
visible in the reflected light of the sun. On the south 
was the great Plain of Esdraelon, beyond which ap- 
peared the mountains of Gilboa, and, still nearer, 
almost in the south, Little Hermon, on whose north- 
western side was seen the little village El-Fuleh; 
on the north of Little Hermon, near the base of its 
cone, was visible the village of Nain, where our 
Saviour raised the widow's son. In the east was 
Tabor, rising high and steep in the form of a 
truncated cone, with its sides partly covered with 
oaks. In the north rose majestically Mount Hermon, 
whose snow-capped summit resembled a white cloud, 
with which it might easily have been confounded had 
I not traced the mountain-side to its top. Stand- 
ing alone on this hill, probably three hundred feet 
higher than the town, amid this sublime and sacred 
scenery, and remembering that our Saviour spent the 
greater part of his earthly life in the town below, and 
that he must often have stood upon this hill, sur- 
rounded by this beautiful scenery, and the thought of 
home suggested by the sight of the harbor of Caipha, 
where I was to embark in a few days, — such thoughts 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



197 



as these produced a deep impression on my heart, 
and brought tears from my eyes. The day was clear, 
mild, and delightful. Slowly I returned to Nazareth ; 
but the dogs seemed determined that I should not 
enter it. In leaving Nazareth to take my stroll, I 
yielded to the whims of these savage brutes, and 
when they guarded one avenue I took another. 
But now I had become weary of humoring them, and 
I resolved to fight my way through them. Gather- 
ing up a handful of stones, and having some excellent 
sole leather in reserve, I charged on them and gained 
a complete victory. The same day I paid a visit to 
the Church of the Nativity ; it was undergoing repairs. 

The bazaars in Nazareth are numerous, though not 
large. The houses of the town are generally white. 
The population is about five thousand, of whom more 
than one-half are Christians ; and nearly all the others 
are Mohammedans. In the Valley of Nazareth I ob- 
served a large number of carob-trees, — rather larger 
than apple-trees, — the fruit of which, long sweet 
beans, the "husks" of the English version, the prodigal 
son would fain have eaten. The natives call the 
town En-Nasireh. The name Nazareth means a 
branch, or a shoot, from the Hebrew netser. In 
the Old Testament the Messiah is predicted in sev- 
eral places* as the " Branch," or shoot. Perhaps it is 
in reference to these prophecies that Matthew remarks 
on our Saviour's dwelling in Nazareth : " That it 
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, 
he shall be called a Nazarene," a branch, or of the city 
of the branch. 



* Isa. xi. 1; Jer. xxiii. 5; Zech. iii. 8, etc. 
17* 



198 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Next morning we started for Tabor, five or six miles 
east of Nazareth. We took a direct course along the 
road east of the town, and then crossed fields partly 
cultivated, where there was no road. The country is 
hilly. The land west of Tabor abounds in oaks re- 
sembling our scrub-box, or post-oak, wholly unfit for 
timber. We rode up the northwest side of Mount 
Tabor; the road was winding, and quite rough in 
places. The sides of the mountain are covered with 
oak. On reaching the top, we found a plain a quarter 
of a mile long and a hundred or a hundred and fifty 
yards wide, we should judge. Tabor is thus in the 
form of an oblong, truncated cone. The greatest di- 
ameter of the upper base of this cone runs in a direc- 
tion between east and west and northeast and southwest. 
There are a few oaks on the top of Tabor ; it has a 
convent; old arches and works of fortification are to 
be seen, — built, perhaps, in the time of the Crusades. 

The prospect from the top of Tabor is wide and 
fine. Looking towards the north you have a view 
extending as far as snow-clad Hermon ; on your 
northeast you see the north end of the Sea of Galilee, 
and the large tract of country east of that sea, and in 
the southeast the country beyond Jordan ; on the 
southwest you see Little Hermon, and near his foot 
the town of Nain, and, a little to the left, Endor. 
Looking across at this village, I said to myself, 
"That's the place where that witch lived." Toward 
the west, through an opening between the hills, the 
Mediterranean Sea was visible. We descended Tabor 
on foot in thirty-four minutes, which would make the 
length of the path of descent — the same path that we 
ascended — a little over a mile and a half. We should 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



estimate its height to be about twelve hundred feet 
above the plain. Although Tabor is not mentioned 
in the New Testament, it is frequently mentioned in 
the Old, and in Josephus. The name first occurs in 
Joshua xix. 22. In Psalm lxxxix. 12 it is said, "Tabor 
and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name." Jeremiah 
also speaks of this mountain : " Surely as Tabor is 
among the mountains and Carmel by the sea, so shall 
he [the king of Egypt] come."* Tabor is the most 
conspicuous mountain in this part of Palestine. The 
great Plain of Esdraelon sweeps around its base. 
Josephus statesf that the ascent of the mountain is 
about thirty stadia, — about three and a half miles ; and 
the circumference of the plain on the top twenty-six 
stadia, — about three miles. This is a gross exaggera- 
tion ; Josephus threw a wall around the summit during 
the Jewish wars. 

Mount Tabor is celebrated in the tradition of the 
church as the scene of our Saviour's transfiguration. 
Hence the language of the poet : 

" When, in ecstasy sublime, 
Tabor's glorious steep I climb." 

But this tradition is not older than the last part of the 
fourth century. Eusebius, in his " Onomasticon," writ- 
ten in the first half of the fourth century, in speaking 
of Tabor makes no mention of the transfiguration. A 
fortified post occupied the summit of Tabor more 
than two hundred years before Christ, and sixty years 
afterwards, which precludes the idea of its being a 
mountain apart. Our Saviour's ministry just before 



* Chap. xlvi. 18. 



f " Wars," Book iv., chap. 1, \ 8. 



200 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



the transfiguration was at Csesarea Philippi, and soon 
after that event he comes to Capernaum. (Matt. xvi. 
13, xvii. 24; Mark viii. 27, ix. 33.) Now, Mount 
Tabor is about forty-five miles from Csesarea Philippi, 
and it is exceedingly improbable that our Lord should 
have taken his disciples through Galilee by way of 
the Sea of Galilee to Tabor, and then back again to 
Capernaum. Mount Hermon is in all probability the 
" mount of transfiguration." It is the highest moun- 
tain in Palestine, — being nearly two miles high, — and 
near Csesarea Philippi, where our Saviour was exer- 
cising his ministry. It suits the language of the 
Evangelists, "a high mountain;" * and no other moun- 
tain in that region can be called high. It is true that 
the summit of Hermon is covered with snow ; but 
there is no reason to suppose that our Saviour 
ascended to the top. 

From Tabor our way to the Sea of Galilee lay 
across a large field ; having passed over this, we de- 
scended a steep hill, and then entered upon a plain, 
which continued to rise till Tiberias and nearly all the 
Sea of Galilee, with large tracts beyond, suddenly' 
burst upon the view. On this plain our companions 
stopped, in the tent of some Bedouins, to eat the noon- 
day meal, some eight or ten Bedouins squatting around. 
Their heads were covered with cloths, around which 
was wrapped a piece of rope. This place was called 
Kefr Sabi. We fell in with some natives riding over 
this plain ; but the inhabitants were sparse. From the 
time we came in sight of the Sea of Galilee till we 
reached it at Tiberias, forty minutes elapsed, — the time 



* Matthew xvii. I, Mark ix. 2. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



201 



occupied in the descent to the sea almost in a straight 
line. It was about half-past three p.m. when we en- 
tered the town ; we stayed with a Jew, from the 
Austrian province of Galicia, who spoke German. I 
requested him to get me some supper, and specially 
named chicken. He said, " Chickens are dear." " How 
much ?" inquired I. " Seven piasters," was his answer, 
— about thirty cents. " Get me a chicken, then," re- 
plied I, for I thought I could stand that sum. The 
chicken was about the size of one of our bantams : 
all the chickens I saw in Palestine were small. The 
Jew had a wife and one or two daughters. They 
were quite kind, and furnished me with supper, 
lodging, and a light breakfast of bread and coffee, 
for about a dollar. 



202 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A Description of Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee. — Tiberias once fa- 
mous as a School of Jewish learning: Mishna and Talmud of Jeru- 
salem composed there. — From Tiberias to Nazareth. — Kefr Kenna 
the true " Cana of Galilee." — Departure from Nazareth. — Difficulty 
with a Donkey-driver. — Crossing of the Kishon. — Elijah's Sac- 
rifice. — Arrival on Mount Carmel. — A Description of Palestine. — 
From Caipha to Beirut. — Damascus ; a Description of its Location, 
and History of the City. — From Damascus to Zebedany. — To Baal- 
bec. — The Ruins of the Temples of the Sun. — The Great Stone in 
the Quarry. — From Baalbec to Stura. — Return to Beirut. 

Tiberias is situated on the west shore of the Sea of 
Galilee, and but little elevated above it. It was built 
by Herod Antipas,* who was appointed by Herod the 
Great to the government of Galilee and Peraea, and 
was banished about a.d. 39. Tiberias is mentioned 
but once in the New Testament: " Howbeit there 
came other boats from Tiberias." (John vi. 23.) No- 
thing is said of our Saviour's ministry in this city. We 
know not in what year of the government of Herod it 
was built : it may not have been of any importance in 
the time of Christ. 

In the period of the Jewish war Tiberias had be- 
come one of the largest towns in Galilee, and is very 
often mentioned by Josephus. Its modern name is 
Tubariyeh. Tiberias is celebrated for once having 
been the seat of a famous school of Jewish learning. 



* "Antiquities," Book xviii., chap. 2, \ 3. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



203 



Here the Mishna, in its present form, containing the 
oral laws of the Jews, was arranged and written about 
a.d. 219,* by Rabbi Jehuda Hannasi ; and the Jeru- 
salem Talmud was composed in the last part of the 
fourth century.f 

In 1759 and in 1837 Tiberias suffered severely from 
earthquakes. At present it contains something over 
two thousand inhabitants. It is a favorite place of re- 
sort with the Jews. There is nothing, however, attrac- 
tive in the place ; the houses are low and very com- 
mon, and the thoroughfares very crooked. We saw 
well-built old walls that no longer inclose the town, 
for the houses are gone. 

Of Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida, not a ves- 
tige remains. Tiberias is the only town on the lake 
shore. On the Sea of Galilee we observed not a single 
boat. Dr. Robinson, in 1838, saw one boat with sails 
on the lake. 

The Sea of Galilee is situated in a deep basin ; the 
length of the sea is about thirteen miles, and its 
breadth, in the widest part, about six or seven miles. 
According to Captain Lynch, its bottom is concave, 
and the greatest depth is one hundred and sixty-five 
feet. Josephus speaks of the lake as containing va- 
rious kinds of fish. J The lake lies about six hundred 
feet lower than the Mediterranean Sea. The tempera- 
ture is not so great here as in the Plain of Jericho. 
We observed leaves on one or two fig-trees near Tibe- 
rias, but they were not green like those* at new Jeri- 
cho. We would gladly have visited Khan-Minyeh — 



* Dr. Zunz, Gottesdienst. Vortrage, p. 46. -j- Ibid., p. 53. 
% " Wars," Book iii., chap 10, $ 7. 



204 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



where Dr. Robinson locates Capernaum — and Mijdel 
(Magdala), but such was not the programme of my 
companions. 

The Sea of Galilee is deeply interesting" to every 
Christian. On the shores of this lake our blessed Re- 
deemer spent a considerable portion of his ministry. 
Often did he pass from one side of the sea to the other ; 
upon its waves he walked, and its raging billows he 
rebuked, — " Peace, be still ! and there was a great 
calm." On this sea the Apostles pursued the vocation 
of fishermen till called by the Great Master to be fish- 
ers of men. In sight of this sea our Lord delivered 
his sublime Sermon on the Mount. There is nothing 
attractive in the country around, no beautiful scenery. 

We left Tiberias on the day after our arrival, about 
nine a.m., for Nazareth, by way of Kefr Kenna; we 
passed to the right of the village Lubieh; on our right 
and left were elevated hills. One of these, on the 
right, the Horns of Hattin, was pointed out as the 
Mount of Beatitudes. It is a high cliff, and certainly 
seems to be a suitable place from which to address a 
crowd ; but whether this is the actual spot where our 
Lord delivered his sublime discourse is doubtful. 
There are other places in the vicinity that would have 
answered the purpose. The country for twelve miles 
or more west of the Sea of Galilee is a very fertile 
region, fine wheat land. It was doubtless in this tract 
that the disciples plucked the ears of corn on the 
sabbath-day, which excited the pious wrath of the 
Pharisees. But little of this tract was in cultivation, 
and it abounded in thistles. 

We halted at Kefr Kenna, a village built on a hill 
of gentle elevation. Northwest of it is a high hill. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



205 



We judged the place to contain about five hundred 
inhabitants. We learned afterwards that it is about 
six hundred. We saw the remains of a church. The 
village, though well situated, is not prepossessing, so 
far as its houses are concerned. I estimated its dis- 
tance from Nazareth to be five miles to the northeast. 
This village has generally been considered to be the 
Cana of Galilee, where our Lord converted water into 
wine. The dragoman of our party from Jerusalem, a 
Christian, conducted us to this spot as the Cana of the 
gospel. Dr. Robinson has lent the weight of his 
great name in support of another Cana about eleven 
miles north of Nazareth, near Jotapata and Sepphoris ; 
and in the maps of Palestine published by him, and by 
others after him, this village is put down as the Cana 
of the gospel. Dr. Robinson did not visit Kefr Kenna. 
After visiting the village and reflecting over the matter, 
we felt strongly disposed to differ from Dr. Robinson, 
and to locate the Cana of the gospel at Kefr Kenna ; 
and our judgment has been greatly confirmed in this 
by the remarks of Dr. Zeller in the publications of the 
Palestine Exploration Society, and by an article on 
Cana in McQintock and Strong's " Cyclopaedia," where 
Willabald, in the eighth century, identifies this Kefr 
Kenna with the Cana of John. Dr. Zeller remarks on 
Kefr Kenna : " Its situation is particularly suitable, 
pretty and healthy, for the village lies on a hill grad- 
ually sloping down towards the west, so that houses 
built in terraces up the slope receive the cool west 
wind, which has, through the Plain of Battauf, a free 
and strong current over the village. At the south of 
the village is a copious fountain of excellent water. 
The present village contains about two hundred houses, 

18 



2o6 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



half of them belonging to Greek Christians and the 
other half to Moslems. It covers only the middle 
and southern slope of the hill, whilst there are suffi- 
cient traces that in former times the village was at 
least thrice as large. 

" Khirbet Kenna [which Dr. Robinson believes to be 
the Cana of the gospel] lies on a very narrow terrace 
— scarcely to be called a terrace — on the steep side of 
the hill bordering the Plain of Battauf, eleven miles to 
west-northwest of Nazareth. Kenna faces the south, 
and being directly exposed to the hot rays of the sun, 
which take peculiar effect on the steep and rocky side 
of the hill, the position is in summer exceedingly hot, 
and it is so little elevated over the plain that no pure 
mountain air is obtained. No spring water is near, 
and the two or three cisterns supply only a moderate 
quantity of water, and the area suitable for building 
is exceedingly limited. 

"The Greek Christians of Palestine never doubted 
the identity of Kefr Kenna with the Cana of the 
gospel." 

The fact that the mother of Jesus was at the wed- 
ding, and that both he and his disciples were invited, 
indicates an acquaintance on the part of Jesus and his 
mother with the family. Now it is much more natural 
to suppose that Jesus and his mother were acquainted 
with the family in which the marriage took place, in 
Cana, if the town was but five miles from Nazareth, 
where the mother of Jesus lived, and where he him- 
self had been brought up, than if the town was eleven 
miles distant from Nazareth, — the distance of Khirbet 
Kenna, — for the greater the distance the less the proba- 
bility of acquaintanceship. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



207 



But further, our Saviour had a house in Capernaum ; 
at least it was his principal stopping-place when in the 
neighborhood of the Sea of Galilee. The road to 
Capernaum from Nazareth lay through Kefr Kenna, 
and after the wedding Jesus, his mother, brethren, and 
disciples went down there. When our Saviour jour- 
neyed from Judea into Galilee, he is found at Cana, 
evidently on his way to Capernaum, or some other 
part of the coast of the Sea of Galilee. The noble- 
man, whose son was sick at Capernaum, sends to Cana 
for him. But if Khirbet Kenna is the real Cana of 
the gospel, it is strange that our Saviour should have 
taken that circuitous road in going from Nazareth to 
Capernaum. 

Josephus in several places speaks of Cana as a 
village of Galilee.* In his Life, speaking of his battles 
with the Romans, he remarks that Syllas, the com- 
mander of the king's forces, pitched his camp five fur- 
longs from Julias [about four miles north of the Sea 
of Galilee], and placed a guard over the road that led 
to Cana, and one over the road leading to Gamala 
[east of the Sea of Galilee], to prevent the inhabitants 
from obtaining aid from the Galileans. Now, if Khir- 
bet Kenna is here meant, it is strange that Josephus 
should have named this place, and not Jotapata, 
scarcely more than a mile from it; for Jotapata was 
one of the principal places in Galilee, and in the same 
neighborhood too was Sepphoris, a large town, but 
Cana was simply a village. But on the supposition 
that Kefr Kenna is meant, all is natural, for the road 
to this village lies through the most fertile part of 



* " Life," sec. 16, 71 ; " Wars," Book i , chap. 4, \ 7 ; 17, \ 5. 



208 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



eastern Galilee, and the village Cana was the most 
important place in this region. From Kefr Kenna to 
Nazareth the road is hilly and rough. We reached 
the convent in Nazareth a little after one o'clock p.m. 

At Nazareth my donkey-driver refused to go to Caifa, 
declaring that his time was out, expiring that Friday. 
As Rev. El-Karey had contracted with him to carry 
me to Caifa, I knew there was no mistake. I knew 
that I had a slippery fellow to deal with, as he had 
attempted to swindle a man at Nablus, and perhaps 
succeeded. I explained to an English dragoman, and 
also to one of the monks, the nature of the contract, 
and requested this dragoman to say to the donkey-driver 
that if he would not conduct me to Caifa, I would 
make other arrangements, and deduct the necessary 
sum from what I still owed him. The monk took 
sides with me, and cried out, " Caifa!" Seeing that I 
had the advantage of him in still being indebted to 
him, and that the sentiment of the convent was against 
him, on Saturday morning he brought up the horse 
and the donkey. Finding that he was thus disposed 
to do his duty, I said to him, "Caifa, backshish," and 
thus put him in a good humor. 

At the convent we had excellent accommodations, 
and the monks were kind. 

On leaving the convent, about nine a.m. on Saturday, 
we pursued nearly a western course over the hills that 
shut in Nazareth on the southwest, and descended into 
the Plain of Esdraelon. There was a slight fall of rain 
in the morning. The temperature of the air was 
pleasant, the soil seemed to be very fertile, and every- 
thing conspired to make me feel that this part of Pal- 
estine is " a delightsome land." As we passed along 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



209 



we observed some green gourds. A portion of the 
Great Plain we found cultivated, and where not tilled 
it was covered with thistles and wild carrots. 

Before reaching the Kishon, near the borders of 
the Great Plain, we passed a large number of oaks 
resembling box-oaks and black-jacks. On approach- 
ing the Kishon one of my companions, an Austrian, 
being a little ahead of me, was disposed to be waggish, 
and, riding back to me, exclaimed, " Konnen sie 
schwimmen?" — "Can you swim?" I replied I could. 
He added, it was necessary to swim, as the Kishon 
was deep. I replied it was very unlikely that there 
was any stream in Palestine deep enough to require 
swimming to cross it. On reaching the Kishon he 
rode his horse down into the muddy water and reeds, 
where there was no ford, and he was swamped. He 
was compelled to dismount into the standing water 
and mud, several feet deep, and make his horse jump 
up on the bank. He heard from me more than once 
the interrogatory, " Konnen sie schwimmen ?" Going 
a little up the stream, we crossed it where it was 
scarcely six inches deep, and had not more than half 
water enough to turn an ordinary over-shot grist-mill 
wheel. We ate our noonday meal under a tree 
near the stream. I observed that the Kishon is 
subject to inundations, as I saw leaves and other drift- 
matter sticking to the bushes some distance from the 
bed of the brook, at a height of four feet or more. 
The place where we crossed the Kishon was about 
ten miles from its mouth. We continued our journey 
along the fertile plain lying between the Kishon and 
Mount Carmel. We passed to the right of a village, 
— Esh-Sheikh, — and between this place and the harbor 

18* 



2IO 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



of Caifa the Kishon turns to the left and touches the 
foot of Carmel. The bed of this stream was our road 
for some distance. The water here was a foot and 
a half or two feet deep. It was on the top of Carmel, 
near this water, that Elijah offered his sacrifice, and 
confounded the false prophets of Baal, and at this 
brook he slew them. Here he obtained, at these 
fountains, water during the drought. 

We reached the harbor of Caifa about 2 p.m. The 
town is small and uninteresting. I purchased a first- 
class ticket for Beirut at the Austrian Lloyd office for 
something more than four dollars. I noticed a few 
miles off Akka (Acre), a small, white-looking town, 
and in the distance Lebanon, extending his white 
promontory down into the sea. 

After a ride of about an hour along the Mediterra- 
nean, and in the ascent of the northwest point of Car- 
mel, we found ourselves at the magnificent convent of 
St. Elias, where we had excellent quarters and fare. 
Whatever may be said against monkish institutions, 
it must be acknowledged that convents are highly 
useful in Palestine. Here the traveler finds a secure 
retreat, and is received with kindness. He is not 
asked whether he is a Catholic or Protestant, and 
when he leaves he can pay what he pleases. 

On Sunday morning, I took a stroll of several miles 
up Mount Carmel to get a good view of the celebrated 
Plain of Sharon, lying between the mountain and the 
Mediterranean Sea. As I was alone, I proceeded with 
caution; but coming in sight of some peasants plow- 
ing in the plain, I took courage, knowing that farmers 
are not robbers. The prospect extended, we suppose, 
as far as Caesarea Palestinse, where once lived Eusebius, 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



211 



the father of ecclesiastical history. The plain seemed 
to be very fertile and well cultivated. The temperature 
of the air was delightful, and all nature was beautiful. 
Although it was the 16th of January, the noonday sun 
was unpleasantly warm. We saw no trees on Carmel, 
only some small pines, sage-bushes, and other shrubs. 
While on Carmel we frequently quoted the language 
of Isaiah : "The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto 
it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon" (chap, 
xxxv. 2). In the days of Isaiah Lebanon was covered 
with goodly cedars, and Carmel with oaks and orchard- 
trees. The cedars of Lebanon are almost entirely 
gone, and so are the oaks and fruit-trees of Carmel ; 
but the fertility of Sharon remains. With my quota- 
tion of Isaiah was blended the deep murmur of the 
Mediterranean Sea. I observed the remains of a 
former building, consisting of an old cistern, etc., 
southwest of the convent. The convent stands near 
the northwest end of the mountain, at an elevation of 
about three or four hundred feet above the sea. 

A DESCRIPTION OF PALESTINE. 

Before leaving Palestine it seems proper to add 
some general reflections upon the country. Palestine, 
or Philistia, the land of the Israelites, lies between the 
parallels of 31 15' and 33 20' north latitude, a 
length of about one hundred and forty-five miles. A 
line drawn from the Mediterranean Sea through Jericho 
to the Jordan would measure about fifty miles. This, 
however, would not be the whole breadth of the 
country, as two tribes and a half dwelt east of the 
Jordan. The whole average breadth might be esti- 
mated at sixty miles, which would give an area of 



212 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



eight thousand seven hundred square miles. By far the 
largest part of this tract is mountainous. The moun- 
tain chain extends without interruption from the 
southern part of Judea, about twenty or thirty miles 
south of Hebron, to the great Plain of Esdraelon, a 
distance of about ninety miles. This plain, — running 
from near the Jordan in a northwest course to the 
Mediterranean, which it touches where the Kishon 
empties into that sea, — interrupts the mountain range. 

North of the Great Plain the land again rises and 
assumes a mountainous character as far up as Mount 
Hermon, which has a height of about ten thousand feet, 
and may be regarded as the northern limit of Palestine. 
The highest point of the great central range, which is 
about half a mile above the level of the Mediterranean 
Sea, is crossed in going from Joppa to Jerusalem, about 
a mile and a half before reaching the latter city. The 
height of the southern part of this range, near Hebron, 
is nearly the same that it is a short distance west of 
Jerusalem. Mount Carmel, a branch of this chain, 
has a general elevation of about seven or eight hun- 
dred feet above the Mediterranean Sea. 

The range is bounded on the east by the Dead Sea 
and the plain of the Jordan. Old Jericho, at the foot 
of this mountain tract, is about six and a half or seven 
miles from the Jordan. East of the Dead Sea and the 
Jordan rise the mountains of Moab. West of this 
central ridge of Palestine, and beginning at the point 
where the Carmel range extends down into the sea, 
lies the fertile Plain of Sharon, which attains a breadth 
of about twelve or fourteen miles in the vicinity of 
Joppa. This plain continues along below Joppa to the 
southern limit of Palestine, though we have no proof 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



213 



that the extreme southern part of it bore in ancient 
times the name of Sharon. 

The region lying between Jerusalem and Bethlehem 
on one side and the Dead Sea and the plain of the 
Jordan on the other is the Desert of Judea; this 
tract is very rough and barren. The mountain region 
abounds in limestone rock, and in the vicinity of Jeru- 
salem, and south almost to Hebron, is rough and 
rocky, and not very productive; but the country im- 
proves as you go north into Samaria and Galilee. The 
Plain of Sharon is fertile, and the Plain of Esdraelon 
is exceedingly so. Except groves of olive-trees occa- 
sionally seen, some fig-trees and some oaks in the 
region of Tabor and in a small tract about eight miles 
west of Nazareth, and a carob-tree here and there, 
Palestine is destitute of trees. But when the land was 
subdued by Joshua there must have been in it a consid- 
erable quantity of wood, for not only do we find men- 
tion made of a wood country (Josh. xvii. 18), but also 
of Joshua's burning the towns, which is a proof that 
the houses were built of wood. Now the houses of all 
the towns and villages are built of stone, as wood is 
very scarce. 

The people of Palestine live in towns and villages 
only, like ants in heaps. You never see any isolated 
houses. The inhabitants cultivate the country around. 
This was doubtless the usage in the time of Christ : 
hence the expression in the parable of the sower, " A 
sower went forth to sow." 

The winters of Palestine are very mild, and the 
ground never freezes. Snow is rarely ever known. 
The heavens are remarkably clear, and the number of 
stars visible seems to be greater than in our own 



214 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



country. We were in Palestine during the rainy season, 
and yet it was a season of comparative drought. 
There is little doubt that in ancient times rain was 
more abundant, when trees were numerous. 

Fences and inclosures are rare in Palestine. The 
country is a great common, in which shepherds tend 
their flocks of sheep, goats, and cows. Here and 
there portions of this common are cultivated. 

The ancient fertility of Palestine has sometimes been 
denied, but without good reason. Tacitus, in his de- 
scription of Palestine, remarks, "The soil is rich;"* and 
Strabo, speaking of the region of country beginning at 
Mount Carmel and extending along the coast beyond 
Joppa, remarks, " This place was so populous that from 
the neighboring village of Jamnia and the settlements 
around forty thousand men could be armed. "f 

On the fertility of Galilee at the time of Christ, Jose- 
phus remarks : " It is all rich, and abounds in pastures, 
and is planted with all sorts of trees ; besides this, it 
is all cultivated by its inhabitants, and no part of it 
is idle ; but its cities are numerous, and the multitudes 
of its villages are everywhere populous on account of 
the abundance of provisions, so that the smallest vil- 
lage contains more than fifteen thousand inhabitants. "J 
Making due allowance for the exaggeration of Josephus, 
we are authorized in concluding that the country was 
very populous, to justify in any sense his language. 
" In extent, Palestine," says Merivale, " scarcely 
equaled one of the least of modern European states, 
such as Belgium or Piedmont; nor was its soil natur- 

* " Uber solum" Hist., Lib. v., cap. 6. 
f Lib. xvi. 28. 

\ " Wars," Book iii., chap. 3, § 3. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



215 



ally calculated to support a very dense population. 
It seems, however, that partly from artificial cultiva- 
tion, partly from foreign importations, it actually main- 
tained more than proportionate numbers."* The Plain 
of Sharon, and the great Plain of Esdraelon, however, 
were well calculated to sustain a heavy population. 

It is impossible to determine the number of inhab- 
itants in Palestine at the time of Christ, but we can 
scarcely estimate it at more than three millions. At 
present the population of all Syria has been estimated 
at thirteen hundred thousand. It has been computed 
that one-third of these are Christians, which is perhaps 
not an over-estimate. 

But the smallness of Palestine does not diminish its 
importance in our eyes. No country in the world has 
had such an influence upon the human race. Here 
lived the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles. But 
what gives Palestine its deep interest for the Christian 
is the fact that it is the land where our Saviour was 
born, where he led his wonderful life, and where he 
died for our sins and arose for our justification, and 
from which he ascended to heaven. No spot upon 
earth can compare with this in sacredness. 

The antiquities of Rome impress us with their own 
greatness and that of the Roman power; while the 
ruins of Athens carry us back to the days of Pericles, 
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Demosthenes, when the 
Grecian culture was at its zenith : but the eye of the 
traveler is never moistened with tears while beholding 
these interesting spots. But who can stand in Geth- 
semane, or on the spot where our Saviour beheld 



* History of the Romans under the Empire, vol. vi., p. 432. 



2l6 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Jerusalem and wept over it, or on the hill of Nazareth, 
where he was brought up, and drop no tear? 

Next to Palestine in importance was Greece, the 
most important part of which was Attica, with its chief 
city, Athens. But Attica was not more than one-third 
the size of Delaware. Yet who disputes its impor- 
tance in the world's history? In the modern world, 
the country which has played the most important part 
is the island of Great Britain, not China, with its great 
area and still greater population. 

In the moral world as in the physical, there must 
be a plan ; and the Jewish and Christian revelation, 
made originally to Abraham and his posterity in the 
descendants of Jacob, embraces this plan. The people 
to whom the revelation was made, the country they 
inhabited, and their own condition and the condition 
of the world at the time in which different parts of the 
revelation were made, had a fitness for it, just as in 
the physical world the various animal creations bore 
a certain relation to the globe as well as to the plan in 
the Divine mind. 

In what other land could the Messiah so appropri- 
ately have made his appearance ? 

The position of Palestine, as Stanley has well 
remarked, on the western border of Asia, in close con- 
tact with the Western world, was favorable to its exert- 
ing an influence both on the East and on the West. 

The Jewish mind was not creative, but merely 
the receptacle and organ of Divine revelation. Had 
Divine revelation been committed to the Greeks, it 
might have been regarded as a discovery of their own 
profound genius ; but coming from the Hebrews, far 
inferior to the Greeks in the gifts of genius and in 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



217 



intellectual culture, its heavenly origin becomes 
more evident, its excellency is seen to be of God, and 
not of men. 

While in Palestine we felt that the Bible, in all its 
allusions to geography and to local customs, belongs 
to that land, but that in its theology and devotional 
strain it soars far above the Holy Land. 

From Judea, in the days of the Csesars, the Apostles 
had easy access to the various parts of the Roman 
Empire ; and the Greek language, that was used more 
or less in all parts of the Empire, not excluding Judea, 
afforded a ready medium of communication. 

I left the convent on Mount Carmel on Sunday 
afternoon, January 16, for Caifa, about three miles 
distant, where I took the Austrian steamer, about one 
o'clock in the night, for Beirut, and reached its harbor 
about eight next morning (Monday). I paid about 
two francs to the boatmen to be taken ashore. In the 
East, I never knew a ship to come to land, for there 
are no wharves. As a general rule, the ticket you buy 
for any given port does not include your conveyance 
either to the ship or from the ship to land when you 
reach your destination. 

We stopped at the Byzance Hotel in Beirut, where 
we found good accommodations for about ten francs 
a day. I called on our consul, Mr. Johnson, who 
received me kindly, and furnished me with the New 
York Herald, in which I read the President's Message. 

Next morning, about four o'clock, I took diligence 
for Damascus, over an excellent road, said to be the best 
in Syria. It was built some years ago, by a French 
company, at a cost, I understand, of about a million 

*9 



218 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



of dollars. Its length is one hundred and twelve kilo- 
metres, about sixty-nine miles. Our diligence had 
six draught animals attached, horses and mules, which 
were changed about eight times on the way. The 
road, however, is not profitable to the company. It 
passes from Beirut over the Lebanon Mountains, the 
summits of which were covered with snow; then it 
passes through the vale of the Litany, Ccele-Syria, a 
valley from five to seven miles wide — a little north of 
the ancient Chalcis ; then it ascends the Anti-Lebanon 
range, and strikes the Barada River, about five miles 
from Damascus. The country for five or six miles 
from Beirut is fertile and well cultivated, and the same 
may be said of Ccele-Syria ; but the rest of the country 
is generally barren and uncultivated. We reached 
Damascus a little after six p.m., having been fourteen 
hours on the way from Beirut. The fare was about 
twenty-one francs. 

I stopped at the only hotel in Damascus, kept by a 
man born in Sparta, of noble physique. He spoke 
English tolerably well. The hotel was built in the 
Oriental style, around a square, open court. In the 
midst of this court was a fountain with a pool of water. 
Our accommodations were good. The charge was 
eleven francs a day, including everything. 

Next morning we procured a guide to visit the most 
interesting objects in Damascus. Our guide was a 
Christian, of Persian descent. He was of medium size, 
and of a complexion not so fair as the Americans. We 
traversed the whole length of Straight Street, now 
bearing this name, as our guide informed us, and 
doubtless the same street that is mentioned in the 
Acts of the Apostles. It extends from east to west 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



219 



through the old city, from wall to wall, and there is 
no other street like it. It is more than a mile long, 
and from twelve to fifteen feet wide. The sides, for a 
considerable distance, are occupied with bazaars. 

Ascending an old tower, once a minaret, at the east 
end of this street, we had a fine view of the city. The 
houses, with few exceptions, have flat roofs, are closely 
huddled together, and are the color of unburnt bricks. 

Not far from the eastern gate of Straight Street, we 
were shown the tomb of St. George who slew the 
dragon. The picture of St. George, mounted on horse- 
back, with spear in hand, killing the dragon, is very 
common in Eastern churches. It is amusing to see 
the various forms in which the dragon is represented. 
His form resembles that of an alligator, with the feet 
of a snapping-turtle. In one instance I remember the 
dragon had missiles in one of his claws. But the fame 
of St. George's exploits has reached western Europe; 
on the front of the cathedral of Basel, in Switzerland, 
we saw a statue of St. George, clad in armor, killing 
the dragon, which in this case somewhat resembles a 
goose : having but two feet, a tail, and a wide mouth. 
It was pleasant to find the tomb of such a distinguished 
hero. It was marked by a small slab, in which was 
an opening containing a burning taper. This cele- 
brated character, the patron saint of England, has a 
singular history. If we are to believe Gibbon and 
others, this saint is no other person than a bishop of 
Alexandria, in the fourth century, and an opponent of 
Athanasius. His character was said to be bad. How 
an Arian of such a character could be canonized by 
the Catholic Church is hard to tell. But then, what 
does the dragon represent? Not Athanasius certainly. 



220 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



There is a mystery about this saint that needs clear- 
ing up. 

Not far from the tomb of St. George, on the south- 
eastern side of the city, the spot where St. Paul was 
converted was pointed out to us. It is apparently the 
remains of an old road, of conglomerate rock, about 
thirty yards long, in some places five or six yards 
wide, and four or five feet higher than the surrounding 
ground, which has been cut down. Close to this spot 
is the place into which were thrown the dead bodies 
of the Christians that were massacred by the Moham- 
medans in i860. The number of the murdered was 
said to be two thousand five hundred. The slaughter 
raged for about two weeks. 

Immediately outside of this southeast wall, we saw 
some persons engaged in the preparation of silk. They 
seemed to be cleaning the long strands, stretched upon 
supporters for many yards. The silk manufacture of 
Damascus seems to be considerable. We found in 
the city numerous articles of English manufacture. 

We visited the Catholic Syrian Church, and drank 
coffee with the priest, who read for us Syriac out of 
John's Gospel, an edition printed in Paris. From this 
church we went to the Syrian Church of the Maronites, 
or Schismatics, as they are called by the Catholic 
Syrians. We did not see the priest of this church. 

In the afternoon we called on our consul in Damas- 
cus, whom we found sick in bed. His son was acting 
consul, but was absent. We saw in the house several 
ladies, tolerably good looking and very respectable in 
appearance, of the color of light olive-oil. They 
brought us black coffee in small cups, and kindly en- 
tertained us. Unfortunately, neither the consul nor 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



221 



any of his family present could speak any English. 
We left in search of the acting consul, whom we 
found after a few minutes' walk. He spoke English 
very well, and kindly gave me his advice about going 
to Baalbec. It had been my intention to return from 
Damascus to Stura, about twenty-nine miles from 
Beirut, by diligence, and take horses to Baalbec; but 
the seats in the diligence were already engaged for 
several days ahead. Our acting consul requested my 
Christian guide to hire a horse for me, which he did. 

From rising ground something more than a mile 
from the northern limit of the city, we had a fine view 
of Damascus with its surroundings. Before us, in the 
midst of a desert, lay a plain, containing many square 
miles, covered with gardens and trees and well watered 
by the Barada River, probably the Abana of Scripture. 
The trees are generally but a few inches in diameter, 
many of them small silver poplars. The ground be- 
tween these trees is well cultivated. In the midst of 
this beautiful oasis Damascus is set. The city derives 
its life from the river, which is cut up into channels 
for the purpose of irrigation. The population of Da- 
mascus is said to be from one hundred and eighty to 
two hundred thousand ; of whom only ten or twelve 
thousand are Christians. I saw not a single American 
in Damascus, and even Europeans are scarce here; but 
there is a great blending of the Oriental populations. 
Here Oriental life has full sway. 

Damascus is certainly one of the oldest cities in the 
world. It is mentioned in the time of Abraham : 
" The possessor of my house will be Eliezer of Damas- 
cus." (Gen. xv. 2.) The name of the city is variously 
explained as place of industry, or weaving, or habitation 

19* 



222 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



of possession. It is now called Es-Sham. Such a mag- 
nificent and fertile oasis as that in which Damascus is 
situated, and being near the primitive seat of mankind, 
would naturally be inhabited at a very early period. 
But we have no idea of the early dimensions of this 
city. From the time of Abraham it is not again men- 
tioned till "David put garrisons in Syria of Damas- 
cus." (2 Sam. viii. 6.) During the Hebrew monarchy 
Damascus, it seems, was the capital of Syria, at least 
in the time of Isaiah, who calls it "the head of Syria." 
(Isa. vii. 8.) The prophet Amos, 787 B.C., predicted the 
captivity of Damascus (i. 3, 5); and Isaiah, less than 
fifty years afterwards, declares : "Damascus is taken 
away from being a city. It shall be a ruinous heap." 
(xvii. 1.) This prophecy was fulfilled in the time of 
Isaiah, for we read, "The king of Assyria went up 
against Damascus, and took it, and carried it captive to 
Kir." (2 Kings xvi. 9.) Strabo, at the time of Christ, 
calls Damascus "a remarkable city, and about the 
most splendid in this country in the time of the Per- 
sian dominion."* It is mentioned in several passages 
in the New Testament. Here St. Paul preached after 
his conversion, and Christianity, it seems, spread here 
quite rapidly at an early period. In 634 the city passed 
into the hands of the Mohammedans, from whom it 
has never since been taken. 

No insult was offered us by any of the Moham- 
medans in Damascus, and we may make the same 
remark respecting the East in general. At Damascus 
the English have a consul of their own nation ; we 
met him while returning to the city from a walk. 



* Lib. xvi. 20. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



223 



My guide hired a man and horse for me from the 
Christian quarter of the city for fifty francs, to conduct 
me to Baalbec and thence to Stura, which would 
occupy three days. 

On the morning of the 20th of January, a little be- 
fore seven o'clock, I left Damascus in company with 
my guide, who went on foot. It soon began to rain, 
but did not continue long. We pursued our journey 
on the Beirut road for about five miles along the 
Barada; we then left the river, but struck it again at 
D. Kanon. Above D. Kanon for a considerable dis- 
tance the ground near the Barada is cultivated, but 
the vegetation ends at Suk Wady; after this the 
stream dashes along through a deep gorge with roar- 
ing sound. In this gorge tombs are seen cut high up 
into the hill- (or mountain-) side. Our course after 
this was north, and we soon entered a well-cultivated 
plain, extending as far as Zebedany. On the way I 
told my guide, who used nothing but Arabic, to go to 
the source of the Barada, adding to the few Arabic 
words that significant term, "backshish." He replied, 
" Bokra" (to-morrow). My answer was, " El-youm" 
(to-day); and I made " El-youm" prevail. Turning 
aside to the left from the road that leads to Zebedany, 
when at the entrance of the plain, we had to cross a 
considerable number of ditches cut to irrigate the 
plain. I was compelled at different times to dismount, 
while my guide made the horse jump the ditches. An 
Oriental horse- or donkey-driver will almost break his 
neck for a little backshish. About one o'clock we 
came to the source of the Barada, about five miles 
south of the town Zebedany. Near the west end of 
the plain the Barada suddenly emerges from the 



224 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



ground in a fountain of great depth and clearness, and 
in perfect silence. The stream issuing from this large 
fountain is strong enough to turn several grist-mills at 
once. We saw wild ducks at and near this fountain. 
We gave our guide the backshish, about thirty cents, 
with which, I believe, he was satisfied. 

From the fountain of the Barada we turned north to- 
wards Zebedany, which we reached a little after three p.m. 
My understanding was, on leaving Damascus, that the 
hotel-keeper had told my guide where he should stop 
in the town; but the guide knew not where to go, and 
no one there seemed to be acquainted with any Euro- 
pean language, so that I was cut off from holding any 
communication with the people. At length one of the 
principal men took us home with him, where we spent 
the night. Zebedany, I should judge, contains about 
fifteen hundred inhabitants, who are Christians, and so 
are all, or nearly all, the villages and towns of Coele- 
Syria. I went out in the afternoon to look at the town. 
They showed me their church, a very common build- 
ing. The people gathered around me as an object of 
curiosity. Straightening myself up fully, — and being 
by no means small, — and bringing my hand to my 
breast, I exclaimed, " Americani !" They laughed. 
At night they brought me their Arabic Bible, printed 
in London. The neighbors came into the house where 
I was stopping to see the stranger and to collect 
backshish. I gave a woman, whose complexion re- 
sembled olive-oil, a franc. She soon left with her 
child. The children gathered around me and pro- 
nounced for me Arabic in a small grammar that I had, 
articulating distinctly the aine, — the only persons I 
ever heard pronounce this letter clearly. They also 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



225 



imitated, with great exactness, the howling of the 
jackals. While in the East I was very anxious to 
ascertain the proper pronunciation of the Arabic aine, 
cognate with the Hebrew ayin, so as to be able 
to pronounce correctly this Hebrew consonant. In 
almost every case the aine was blended with the 
following vowel, to which it seemed to add little or 
nothing. I pronounced Arabic words for Rev. El- 
Karey, a native Arab, omitting altogether the aine in 
the words in pronouncing them, and this pronuncia- 
tion he declared correct. The children in Zebedany 
pronounced aine something like nk, guttural. In Da- 
mascus the Syrian priest, in reading the Syriac New 
Testament, gave no sound to the ee t the consonant 
corresponding to the Hebrew ayin. It is clear, 
then, that ayin ought not to be pronounced at all; 
but if pronounced, it should merely give more guttu- 
ral force to the vowel with which it is connected. 

It rained quite hard during the night. I slept on 
mats spread on the floor, bedsteads not being in use 
in this land of primitive customs. I saw neither tables 
nor chairs. Their coffee is beaten in a mortar, not 
ground, and made in a metal cup. It is quite strong, 
and black with grounds, for they make no attempt to 
clear it. Early next morning, I gave my host about 
a dollar and a quarter for my lodging, for I got very 
little else from him. He requested me to give his 
wife and also his son backshish, which I declined 
doing. His wife brought me water to wash with, and 
an urn-shaped vessel, of pewter perhaps, that would 
hold two or three gallons. She poured the water on 
my hands over the vessel, just as in ancient times the 
custom was. " Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, who 



226 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



poured water on the hands of Elijah" (2 Kings iii. 11). 
As she poured the water, she demanded backshish, 
which she did not get. 

The houses of Zebedany are one story high, with 
flat roofs, built of stone and earth. A house of wood 
is nowhere to be seen, on account of the scarcity of 
that material. There are no regular streets, and when 
a traveler leaves his stopping-place it is difficult to 
find it again. 

We started a little before five o'clock in the morn- 
ing for Baalbec. Our road ran in a northerly direc- 
tion, over mountains sometimes, but generally along 
wadies, in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. The road 
was exceedingly rough. Ascending at length a very 
high, rough, and extremely difficult ridge, we saw as 
Ave descended a little town on our left, Sheet. A con- 
siderable portion of the mountains through which we 
had passed is volcanic. There are a few persons in 
these mountains engaged in burning 1 into charcoal the 
few small saplings or undergrowth, for fuel is the 
great want in Syria. Continuing our course through 
a hilly country, we crossed two deep wadies; ascend- 
ing from the second of these, we saw, at a distance of 
three or four miles, Baalbec, with a part of the ruins 
of the Temple of the Sun. Our tall guide threw out 
his hand towards the town and exclaimed, " Baalbec !" 
" Backshish !" We reached Baalbec a little after one 
o'clock. Our intention was to stay with the Maronite 
bishop ; but my guide seemed to know nothing about 
him. I was in great perplexity till I found a boy who 
could speak French, belonging to the Maronite estab- 
lishment. He conducted me to the residence of the 
Maronite bishop, on the south border of the town, 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



227 



and immediately adjoining the ruins of the Temple of 
the Sun, which is on the west. 

The Maronite Syrian bishop received me cordially. 
He said his members were fifty. We supposed he 
meant men, women, and children: a not very large 
bishopric, it must be confessed. He accompanied me 
through the magnificent ruins of the Temple of the 
Sun. I soon returned to the small room that the 
Maronite furnished me, to get something to eat. I 
took my place on a rough bed, placed on something 
resembling a bedstead. The room had for its covering 
horizontal pieces of wood, on which dirt was placed. 
They gave me for dinner a small chicken, partly burnt 
and partly raw, — of which I left but little, — flat cakes 
of dark flour, and honey.. Coffee, I think, was added. 
I called for a knife with which to eat ; they brought 
me a penknife ! 

Having disposed of my dinner, I started for the 
quarry, in which lies the famous stone, about one-third 
of a mile south of the ruins of the Temple of the Sun. 
It was here that the stones in the two temples were 
quarried, or rather cut out vertically; and two or three 
stones are still seen standing. We had observed on* 
our right, close to the road, as we passed to Baalbec, 
the great stone so celebrated by travelers. It lies east 
and west, — the eastern end being a little elevated above 
the ground, while the west end is somewhat buried in 
it. I measured it with a tape-line, with the following 
results : 

Width of the upper end (eastern) .... 133^ feet. 

" " middle 15^ " 

" " lower end (western) .... " 
Depth, or thickness, measured at upper end 14 " 
Whole length of the stone 69 " 



228 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



About two and a half feet from the lower end of the 
stone an indentation is made in a straight line across 
the stone as if the intention had been to cut off that 
end. Dr. Robinson gives the width of this stone at 
seventeen feet two inches. He had no idea that one 
end was four feet wider than the other. Lepsius 
gives its breadth at fourteen feet.* I think it not 
improbable that the cutters made a mistake in their 
measurement, and afterwards finding that one end was 
four feet wider than the other, abandoned it: and 
hence its present position. 

Baalbec, called by the Greeks " Heliopolis," City 
of the Sun, is an ancient town, dating back to several 
centuries before the Christian era. The name, Baal- 
bec, is probably derived from Baal, the Phoenician 
sun god, and "bek," a slight abbreviation of the 
Hebrew nrps, valley, or perhaps the Phoenician 
baka, city, — thus Baal's City, or Baal's Valley, — the 
Valley of the Litany being still called by the Arabs 
Buka'a, in which Baalbec is situated. The name of 
the city, accordingly, is derived from the worship of 
the sun. The inhabitants of Syria were accustomed 
"to name places after Baal, as seen in the names Baal- 
Hermon, Baal-Hamon, etc. 

The ruins at Baalbec are among the grandest and 
most interesting in the world, — the remains of the 
" Great Temple of the Sun," and of the smaller one at 
its side. Of the great temple, six columns, united 
at top by an entablature, only remain standing, on 
the south side. These columns are about sixty feet 
high, and seven feet in diameter, of the Corinthian 



* " Egypt, ^Ethiopia, and Sinai," p. 346. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



229 



order of architecture. We first saw them three or 
four miles before reaching Baalbec. The smaller tem- 
ple is almost entire. On approaching these venerable 
remains of the past glory of paganism, one is struck 
with wonder at the large broken entablatures and 
columns that lie around him in the wildest profusion. 
The length of the smaller temple, exclusive of the peri- 
style, we found to be about one hundred and thirty-eight 
feet. Dr. Robinson gives its length at one hundred 
and sixty feet, and its breadth eighty-five feet; and 
the whole length of the temple, including the colon- 
nades, nearly two hundred and twenty-five feet, and 
breadth about one hundred and twenty feet. This 
includes the peristyle, or row of columns around the 
temple. We measured one of the largest stones in the 
front, or southeast side of the temple, and found it 
twenty-seven and a half feet long, nearly six feet wide, 
-and four feet three inches deep. Some of the columns 
of the temple we found to measure six feet or more in 
diameter. The order of architecture is the Corinthian. 
" At present, there are on the south side only four 
columns still in their place ; on the west, six ; and on 
the north, nine." The temple rests upon a high basis 
of stone-work, and was approached by a flight of 
thirty steps on the east. 

The Great Temple. — Respecting this temple, we shall 
give some extracts from Dr. Robinson's " Biblical Re- 
searches" : " The eastern front presents the remains of 
a magnificent portico, one hundred and eighty feet 
long, flanked at each end by a square tower, or pavil- 
ion. The floor of the portico is elevated some twenty 
feet above the ground ; and the wall below it is built 
of large undressed stones ; indicating that here was an 

20 



230 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



immense flight of steps leading up into the portico. 
These have wholly disappeared. The portico was about 
thirty-seven feet in depth. It had twelve columns in 
front, of which only the pedestals now remain." " The 
great portal leading from the portico to the temple 
courts is seventeen feet wide. On each side of it is a 
smaller one, ten feet in width. 

" These portals lead into the first court, which is in 
form a hexagon. Its length between east and west, 
from side to side, is about two hundred feet; its 
breadth from angle to angle, about two hundred and 
fifty feet. On the eastern side, and on each of the sides 
towards the north and south, was a rectangular exedra, 
a room or recess like the side chapel in Romish 
churches, with four columns in front of each ; and with 
smaller irregular rooms intervening. The exedrce were 
doubtless roofed over; but all is now in ruins. 

"The western side of the hexagon was occupied by 
a broad portal, fifty feet wide, with two side portals, 
each of ten feet, leading into the great quadrangle, the 
vast court directly in front of the temple proper. This 
area measures about four hundred and forty feet in 
length from east to west, by about three hundred and 
seventy feet in breadth, including the exedrcE 

" Fronting upon this quadrangle was the vast peri- 
style, measuring two hundred and ninety feet in length, 
by one hundred and sixty in breadth. On each side 
were nineteen columns, with capitals of the Corinthian 
order; and at each end ten, counting the corner 
columns twice : that is fifty-four in all. The diameter 
of these columns is given by Wood as seven feet at 
the base and five feet at the top. Our measurement 
gave to some of them a diameter of seven feet three 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



231 



or also four inches. The height of the shafts was 
about sixty-two feet, with a richly sculptured entabla- 
ture of nearly fourteen feet more : making in all nearly 
seventy-six feet. The columns were mostly formed 
of three pieces ; many of which now lie scattered on 
the ground. They were fastened together by iron pins 
or cramps, a foot long and a foot thick ; and some- 
times two of these were employed, one round and the 
other square. So solidly were the parts thus joined 
together that in some instances the fall of the columns 
has not separated them. One of the most revolting 
forms of the ruthless barbarism under which these 
splendid ruins have suffered is still seen in the cutting 
and breaking away of the bottom of the columns yet 
standing, in order to obtain these masses of iron ! 

" These rows of columns stood upon immense walls, 
built up nearly fifty feet above the ground outside. . . 
This magnificent peristyle, thus elevated some fifty 
feet above the adjacent country, formed, of course, a 
conspicuous object in every direction. Even now the 
six western columns of its southern side, the only ones 
which yet remain upright, constitute the chief point 
of attraction and wonder in all the various views and 
aspects of Baalbec. 

" Not less wonderful than the other part of the great 
temple are the immense external substructures, by 
which the walls supporting the peristyle are inclosed 
and covered. 

" The most imposing of these substructures is the 
western wall, as viewed from outside. It rises to 
the level of the bottom of the columns, some fifty feet 
above the surface of the ground ; and in it is seen the 
layer of three immense stones, celebrated by all trav- 



232 



A JOURNEY TO EGYFT 



elers. Of these stones, the length of one is sixty-four 
feet ; of another, sixty-three feet eight inches ; and of 
the third, sixty-three feet: in all, one hundred and 
ninety feet eight inches. Their height is about thir- 
teen feet; and the thickness apparently the same, or 
perhaps greater. They are laid about twenty feet 
above the ground. 

" These temples have been the wonder of past cen- 
turies, and will continue to be the wonder of future 
generations, until barbarism and earthquakes shall have 
done their last work. In vastness of plan, combined 
with elaborateness and delicacy of execution, they 
seem to surpass all others in Western Asia, in Africa, 
and in Europe. They are like those of Athens in 
lightness, but surpass them far in vastness ; they are 
vast and massive like those of Thebes, but far excel 
them in airiness and grace." 

The materials of the temples are for the most part 
limestone. The great temple, as appears from an 
inscription on it, was built, or rebuilt, by Antoninus 
Pius, in the second century. The smaller one was, 
perhaps, built at the same time. 

The ruins of the Temples of the Sun are southwest 
of the present village of Baalbec, on its border. The 
village of Baalbec is not large. One branch of the 
Litany River rises near Baalbec and flows by the Tem- 
ples of the Sun ; southwest of the ruins is a consider- 
able number of small trees. 

I left Baalbec about four o'clock a.m., January 22, 
for Stura, that lies on the road from Damascus to 
Beirut, with the intention of taking the diligence to 
Beirut, if possible. The sky was clear, and we had 
moonlight. The sun rose with brilliancy over the 



AXD THE HOLY LAND. 



233 



snow-clad summits of Anti-Lebanon. The summits of 
Lebanon, on our right, were also covered with snow. 
It was quite cold, though the ground was scarcely 
frozen. We crossed the Litany, a stream strong 
enough to turn a grist-mill, and about the size of 
Deep Run, which forms the boundary, in part, between 
Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Md. 

We passed several towns, among these Zahleh, which 
may contain three thousand inhabitants. We saw, in 
passing through this latter town, shops of blacksmiths, 
carpenters, shoemakers, etc., and also some stores. 
The houses are of one story, built of stone and dirt, 
and covered with horizontal pieces of wood, upon 
which is placed a layer of dirt. The Valley of the 
Litany, Ccele-Syria, is fertile, and in many places well 
cultivated. 

We hurried along to reach Stura before the dili- 
gence from Damascus should arrive. My guide from 
Damascus, being on foot, could not move along as fast 
as I could have wished. The mud clinging to his 
shoes delayed him, and at length he threw them away 
and went barefooted. This gave him a violent cough, 
and I became uneasy about him. We reached Stura 
about eleven o'clock ; but the diligence from Damas- 
cus being crowded, I was compelled to remain there. 
It was Saturday. I was unwilling to hire a horse and 
return on Sunday to Beirut. Here my guide from 
Damascus left me, to return home. Stura has but 
two or three houses, and it was very unpleasant to me 
to be compelled to spend the Sabbath here instead of 
Beirut, where I could have enjoyed church privileges. 
I made inquiry on Sunday for a Bible ; I had difficulty 
in getting it ; at length they brought me one in French, 

20* 



234 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



and I spent a portion of the Sabbath in studying St. 
Paul's history in connection with Damascus. On the 
Sabbath the diligence for Beirut passed crowded with 
passengers. Sunday night I bargained with a man to 
send me next day, on horseback, to Beirut. I paid 
for two horses and a guide thirty francs : nearly six 
dollars. We started next morning, a little before six 
o'clock. It was cold, and in crossing the Lebanon 
range I observed that the ground was frozen, and I 
saw ice. We passed on our right, in the Lebanon 
Mountains, Hummana. The greater part of the way 
was through a barren region. Beirut became visible 
when we were ten or eleven miles distant from it. The 
road is winding as it descends the Lebanon. The 
western slope is not very steep, and the ground is well 
cultivated, and we observed country houses and vil- 
lages. 

In descending the Lebanon, the temperature changed 
greatly, and on approaching Beirut it was quite warm. 
We reached the city a little after one o'clock p.m. 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



235 



CHAPTER IX. 

A Visit to the Sculptures at Dog River. — A Description of them. — Ad- 
venture in returning. — Departure for Constantinople. — The Steamer 
touches at Ti-ipoli, Alexandretta, Mersina. — Passes near Rhodes, Cos, 
Patmos. — Arrival in Smyrna. — Description of Smyrna. — The Steamer 
passes near Lesbos. — Between Tenedos and the Plains of Troy. — 
The Entrance into the Hellespont. — Snow-storm. — Arrival in Con- 
stantinople. — The Mosque of St. Sophia. — Dr. Long. — A Description 
of Constantinople. — A Trip up the Bosphorus. — The History of Con- 
stantinople. — Stanley declares his intention to search for Dr. Living- 
stone — Hon. Edward Joy Morris. — Reflections on the Turkish 
Empire. 

The next day, Tuesday, I procured horses and a 
guide, and rode about five miles north of Beirut, to 
the pass at the entrance of Nahr-El-Kalb, or Dog River, 
into the Mediterranean, to see the celebrated ancient 
sculptures made in the rocks at that place. In ancient 
times the road ran higher up on the mountain-side 
than where it runs now. These figures are cut into 
the rock on the south side of the river, just before it 
enters the Mediterranean. We climbed up to these 
figures on the side of the mountain spur, and examined 
them, having in our hands Robinson's " New Biblical 
Researches," borrowed from our consul-general at 
Beirut. We found Robinson's description of them 
very accurate. Six of these tablets, with their figures, 
are Assyrian. Of this there can be no doubt, for they 
strikingly resemble the figures excavated at Nineveh. 
The figures are about life-size. To one pursuing the 



236 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



road down Dog River to the sea, he will find on his 
left hand, in the following order : 

"No. 1. Egyptian. — Square at top; no figure; ap- 
parently no sculpture. 

" No. 2. Assyrian. — Square at top ; Assyrian figure 
with right hand elevated ; very much worn away and 
indistinct. 

" No. 3. Assyrian. — Square at top ; Assyrian figure 
indistinct. 

" No. 4. Assyrian. — Rounded at top ; Assyrian figure, 
not very distinct. 

" No. 5. Assyrian. — Rounded at top ; Assyrian figure, 
with uplifted arm ; perhaps something in the hand. 

" No. 6. Egyptian. — Square at top ; no figure ; ap- 
parently no sculpture. 

" No. 7. Assyrian. — Rounded at top ; Assyrian figure, 
with uplifted arm ; the most distinct of all. 

" No. 8. Egyptian. — Square at top; no figure; ap- 
parently no sculpture. 

" No. 9. Assyrian. — Rounded at top ; Assyrian figure, 
with uplifted arm. The whole figure and tablet cov- 
ered with a cuneiform inscription." 

It has been disputed whether the three Egyptian 
tablets contain any figures. Dr. Robinson declares 
that he was unable to make out any. I thought I per- 
ceived at least one figure on one of these tablets, but 
not very distinct. 

Dr. R. Lepsius, the celebrated Egyptian archaeolo- 
gist, visited these monuments in the last part of the 
year 1845, and thus gives the result of his examination 
of the three Egyptian tablets : " Among the three 
Egyptian representations, which all bear the shields of 
Rameses II., the central one is dedicated to the chief 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



237 ■ 



god of the Egyptians, RA (Helios) ; the southern one to 
the Theban, or Upper Egyptian Ammon ; and the north- 
ern, to the Memphitic, or Lower Egyptian PHTH A; 
this Rameses had also dedicated to these same gods 
the three remarkable rock-temples in Nubia, at Gerf- 
Hussen, Sebua, and Derr, no doubt because they were 
viewed by him as the three chief representatives of 
Egypt. On the central stele, the inscription begins 
below the representation with the date of the 2 Choiak 
of the 4-TH Year of the Reign of King Rameses. 
The Ammon stele, on the other hand, was dated from 
the second, or (if the two strokes above were con- 
nected), from the tenth year ; at all events, not the same 
year as the central stele, from which we might con- 
clude that all the representations referred to different 
campaigns."* This king, Rameses II., or Sesostris, 
reigned over Egypt about 1300 years B.C. 

The Assyrian figures, six in number, are referred by 
Layard to Sennacherib, about 715 B.C. Rawlinson 
remarks on these monuments : " The style of sculpture 
resembles in every particular the figures at Khorsabad 
[on the site of ancient Nineveh], the letters appear to 
be of the Medo-Assyrian type."f 

Herodotus relates that Sesostris (the great Rameses), 
king of Egypt, set up in Europe and Asia pillars, or 
monuments, with inscriptions indicating the extent of 
his conquests. He remarks : " The greater part of 
these monuments no longer remains ; but I myself 
saw in Palestine, in Syria, the inscriptions of which I 
have spoken. "J 

* " Egypt, /Ethiopia, and Sinai," Bonn's ed., pp. 355, 356. 
•j- Quoted in Bonomi's Nineveh, p. 482. 
\ Book ii., 106. 



2 3 8 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



There is no doubt that both the Egyptian and the 
Assyrian figures were inscribed here to indicate the 
western boundary of the conquests of their respective 
kings. We have no proof that Sennacherib was accus- 
tomed to set up memorials of his conquests; but find- 
ing at Dog River a memorial of Sesostris, it was 
natural to add his own, to show that his conquests had 
extended there also. 

On returning along the Mediterranean sand, my 
guide rode very rapidly. My horse started off at full 
speed and left the track, and I found it was impossible 
to remain on him. The saddle did not fit the horse, 
so that I sat as on a pivot, and having in my hand 
a large book, I calmly yielded to my fate, — taking 
good care to have my feet out of the stirrups, — and 
fell off on the right side of the horse into the sand. 
Providentially, I was not hurt in the least. The horse 
ran off, but whither I knew not. I arose out of 
the sand, and started off afoot for Beirut. But it 
was not long before my guide came to me with the 
runaway horse, and bade me mount him ; this I re- 
fused to do. At length, however, I exchanged horses 
with him, and we rode back to Beirut, which we 
reached about six p.m., just in time to escape a heavy 
gust of rain, attended with thunder and lightning. 

The next day, Wednesday, I visited, in company with 
Mr. Johnson, our consul-general, and Mr. Stanley, the 
foreign correspondent of the New York Herald, the Sy- 
rian Protestant College, of which Dr. Bliss is President. 

"The preparatory school was established in 1865, 
the college itself was opened in the autumn of the fol- 
lowing year, and the medical department was added 
two years later. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



239 



" The language of the college is exclusively Arabic, 
the common tongue of Syria, and used by more than 
one hundred millions of people throughout the East. 
The course of instruction embraces the several branches 
of Arabic language and literature, mathematics, the 
natural sciences, modern languages, Turkish, English, 
and French, moral science, biblical literature, and the 
various departments of medicine and surgery. Juris- 
prudence and Turkish law, with other studies, will be 
added as means allow. 

"Theology, as a system, will not be taught; young 
men preparing for the ministry will complete their 
theological training in connection with the mission to 
which they belong. 

" The institution is under the general control of 
trustees in the United States, where the present funds 
are invested, but local affairs are administered by a 
board of managers, composed of American and British 
missionaries, and residents in Syria and Egypt. 

" The college is conducted upon strictly Protestant 
principles, but is open to students from any of the 
Oriental sects and nationalities who will conform to 
its regulations. 

" The sects already represented are the Protestant, 
Orthodox-Greek, Papal-Greek, Latin, Maronite, Druse, 
and Armenian."* 

The academic department requires four years to 
complete its studies. 

The medical department has three Professors, Rev. 
C. V. A. Van Dyck, M.D., D.D., Professor of Theory 
and Practice of Medicine; Rev. George E. Post, M.D., 



* " The Syrian Protestant College," a pamphlet furnished me by 
Dr. Bliss. 



240 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Professor of Surgery ; and Rev. John Wortabet, M.D., 
Professor of Anatomy and Physiology. 

They have a hospital in connection with the medi- 
cal department. The principal disease in Syria is 
ophthalmia. 

The number of students in the college when I visited 
it was seventy-eight. I was present at the recitation 
of Dr. Bliss's class in Euclid's Elements. They had 
an Arabic translation of one or two books of this author. 
They were all Arabs, and seemed generally to have 
reached their majority. Their complexion was about 
the color of copper. Dr. Bliss told me they recited 
about as well as the average of American students. 

We observed that the medical department was well 
furnished with apparatus. 

They are also paying special attention to geology, 
and forming a valuable collection of specimens. 

An institution of this kind at Beirut must accom- 
plish great good in diffusing science and Christianity, 
conducted as the institution is by able and highly ac- 
complished Christian gentlemen. The Rev. Mr. Dodge 
is associated with Dr. Bliss. 

Our consul-general, Mr. Johnson, is a gentleman 
well qualified for his post. He has been in Beirut for 
twelve or thirteen years, and is evidently very popular 
with the missionaries at Beirut. 

Beirut is becoming a place of great trade, and is 
growing rapidly in population. Our consul informed 
me that the lowest estimate of its population is eighty 
thousand. One can see at a glance that it has a heavy 
population. But the Europeans, perhaps, do not num- 
ber more than one thousand. 

In Beirut there is a considerable blending of the 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



241 



European with the Oriental style of building. Beirut 
is built on the slope of a hill, considerably elevated 
above the level of the sea. The harbor is northwest of 
the town. The entrance to it is very wide. 

This town antedates the Christian era, and is men- 
tioned by both Strabo and Josephus under the name 
of Berytus. In the vicinity of this town the famous 
battle between St. George and the dragon is said to 
have been fought. 

I procured a ticket, including victuals, in Beirut for 
Constantinople, by the Russian line of steamers. On 
the afternoon of Wednesday, January 26, about five 
o'clock, I got aboard of a small row-boat to embark 
upon the Russian steamer Elborz, which was lying at 
anchor in the harbor, several hundred yards from land. 
I bargained with a man to take me aboard for one 
franc. There were several boatmen aboard, and after 
getting'out some distance from land, they told me that 
the man with whom I had bargained belonged to the 
custom-house, and had nothing to do with the boat, 
and that I must pay them one pound, nearly five dol- 
lars. Of course I scouted the idea of paying a pound, 
and told them that they were a set of thieves. They 
fell in their demand to about one dollar. I offered 
them two francs, — which was the sum the keeper of 
the hotel in Beirut had told me to give them, — and I 
added that I would not give them a cent more, and 
that if this did not satisfy them they might take me 
back and put me ashore, and that I would give them 
nothing. This checked them. " You paid four shil- 
lings, about one dollar," said they, " to be put ashore 
when you arrived here." I pronounced this a false- 
hood, using for this purpose a short Saxon word. I 

21 



242 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



had paid about thirty-eight cents. " There is a storm 
coming up," they added. The Russian officer from 
the ship beckoned to them to bring me aboard ; at 
length they put me aboard, and I paid the two francs. 
What M. Hue, in his " Travels in China," says of the 
mandarins, that they are strong towards the weak, and 
weak towards the strong, is true of these men. 

The beggars in the East are very annoying, especi- 
ally at Beirut, where they follow you and show some 
horribly malformed limb to excite your sympathy. 

We left the harbor of Beirut about midnight. I 
got a cup of tea aboard, and the steward told me that I 
must pay for that as the ship had not yet started : cer- 
tainly a nice calculation. Next morning we stopped 
at Tripoli, quite a little town, and remained there till 
about midday; in the afternoon, the wind blew quite 
hard, and the sea was too rough to effect a landing at 
Latakia, where Mr. Taylor, our consul at Cairo, intended 
to disembark. We reached Alexandretta on Friday 
morning, but on account of the roughness of the sea 
nothing was done that day in discharging or taking 
in cargo. It was cloudy and somewhat rainy. The 
following day, January 29, was partially clear, and the 
sea calm, and the cargo destined for the port was dis- 
charged, and put aboard of boats. Northeast of Alex- 
andretta are lofty mountains, extending down to the sea. 
Between these mountains and the sea is a narrow pass, 
mentioned by Xenophon, in his "Anabasis" as the 
Syrian Gates. A few miles north of Alexandretta, the 
coast is seen to turn to the west. In the north and north- 
west, mountains were visible, covered with snow. At 
Alexandretta we saw a Boston vessel, the " Flora Hen- 
derson !" She ran up the stars and stripes ; I was 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



243 



delighted at the sight, and warmly greeted them. 
But few American vessels are seen abroad; our com- 
merce is well-nigh driven from the seas. 

We left Alexandretta Saturday night, and next morn- 
ing reached 'Mersina, where we remained till noon on 
Monday. On Sunday the sea was rough. 

Mersina is in a plain or valley that extends up some 
miles into the country. A few miles north of this is 
Tarsus, where St. Paul was brought up. Back of 
Mersina, in the distance, the mountain-tops were 
covered with snow. 

We left Mersina about noon on Monday, and in the 
afternoon I saw in the southeast the island of Cyprus. 
Early Wednesday morning, we passed on our left the 
island of Rhodes, through the middle of which runs 
an elevated mountain chain. A few hours after, we 
passed between the island Cos and the mainland, and 
I observed on the elevated coast on my right a small 
town, evidently Bodrun, the ancient Halicarnassus, 
distinguished as being the birthplace of Herodotus, 
the father of history. About noon, Patmos arose from 
the sea in the northwest, forty or fifty miles distant, 
as a single elevated summit. Our course lay between 
several small islands and the coast, and I saw straight 
ahead of us the lofty island of Samos, sacred to Juno 
and distinguished as being the birthplace of Pytha- 
goras. As we approached Patmos, in the distance 
a second summit, southward, arose from the sea, no- 
where apparently connected with the first; but upon 
drawing nearer to it, we observed the two summits 
rested upon a common basis of land that also arose 
from the waters, beautifully illustrating the discoveries 
sometimes made in physical science, where several 



244 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



phenomena come into view, apparently independent, 
but which upon further investigation are seen to rest 
upon a common basis. Patmos is distinguished as 
being the spot where the Apostle John was ban- 
ished and wrote the Apocalypse, probably under Nero. 
The island is about six or eight miles long, irregular 
in its form, running north and south. This island is 
mentioned by Strabo.* At present Patmos has a con- 
siderable population and several churches. A little 
after sunset we passed within a few miles of this island 
on our left, having Samos on our right. 

On Thursday morning, I saw on my left the island 
Scio (Chios), with its snow-covered peaks rising above 
a bank of clouds. Scio is one of the places that claim 
to be the native land of Homer. Enoch J. Smithers, 
who was consul for the United States in that island, 
remarked to me at Smyrna, that they have many tra- 
ditions there concerning the great poet. 

The morning was cold. We reached Smyrna be- 
tween two and three o'clock. The bay of Smyrna is 
very beautiful, and completely landlocked. Our ship 
anchored in the harbor, not far from the shore. On 
going ashore, I was compelled to deliver up my pass- 
port, to be kept by the custom-house officer until I 
returned to the ship. A guide conducted me to the 
office of our consul, Mr. Enoch J. Smithers. He recog- 
nized me at once and called me by name, though he 
had not seen me for more than twenty-one years, when 
we were students in Dickinson College. It was very 
pleasant to meet him under these circumstances. Mr. 
Smithers was living a few miles out of town. I did 



* Lib. x. 488. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



245 



not accept his kind invitation to spend the night with 
him, but returned to my ship, where I spent the 
night. 

Next morning I returned to the city, and procured 
a guide to visit the most important places. We first 
went to caravan bridge, in the north part of the town, 
to see the newly-arrived caravan from Persia. It con- 
sisted of nearly a hundred camels of various kinds. 
They had been unloaded, and the bales of goods were 
lying around them. We next went to the old aban- 
doned castle on the top of the hill to the south of the 
city. From this high position I had a fine view of the 
country southward in the direction of Ephesus. The 
land seemed very fertile. North of us at our feet lay 
the city of Smyrna, situated on the south side of the 
bay and also at its head. The head of this bay is 
surrounded by high hills, except at the end where 
the river Meles enters it. A valley extends up this 
river for some miles. My standpoint gave me a beau- 
tiful view of the city, which is compactly built, pre- 
senting a combination of the European and Oriental 
styles of architecture. The houses have sharp roofs 
and are covered with tiles. From the old castle we 
descended to the tomb of Polycarp, standing on the 
hill-side at the south end of the town. A small rect- 
angular space, surrounded by a low wall, marks the 
supposed spot. Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle 
John, and was burnt at the stake about a.d. 167. At 
the time of his martyrdom he was bishop of Smyrna. 
When the procurator urged him to swear and to curse 
Christ, with the promise of release, the venerable bishop 
replied: " Six-and-eighty years have I served him, and 
he has done me nothing but good, and how could I 



246 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



curse him, my Lord and Saviour?" After further en- 
treaty, Polycarp replied: "Well, if you would know 
what I am, I tell you frankly, I am a Christian. Would 
you know what the doctrine of Christianity is, appoint 
me an hour and hear me." Finding all his efforts to 
make Polycarp recant useless, the proconsul ordered 
him to be burnt. 

The spot pointed out as the tomb of Polycarp is 
universally recognized as his, in Smyrna. The anni- 
versary of his death is observed by all the Christians, 
except Protestants, in Smyrna. They close their places 
of business on that day. 

Of Polycarp, Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons in the last 
part of the second century, remarks: "I can describe 
the place in which the blessed Polycarp sat and spake ; 
his going in and out; his manner of life, and the shape 
of his person ; the discourses which he delivered to the 
congregation ; how he told of his intercourse with 
John and with the rest who had seen the Lord ; how 
he reported their sayings, and what he had heard 
from them respecting the Lord, his miracles and his 
doctrine."* 

From what we could gather, the population of 
Smyrna may be classified as follows : Greeks, 60,000 ; 
Roman Catholics, 15,000; Armenians, 10,000; Protest- 
ants, 2,000; Mohammedans, 50,000; Jews, 6,000: 
total 143,000. 

It thus appears that more than one-half of the whole 
population are Christians. Smyrna is one of the seven 
churches addressed in the Apocalypse : " To the angel 
of the Church of Smyrna," words which we frequently 
quoted while there.. 



* Epistle to P'lorinus. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



247 



Smyrna is a place of great trade with the United 
States ; opium and figs are among the principal articles 
of export. 

Smyrna is a very ancient town, said to be named 
after one of the Amazons. According to Herodotus, 
it was founded by Colophon. Strabo states that the 
most ancient city was something over two miles — 
north, he means — from where it stood in his time. 
"The Lydians," says he, "having destroyed Smyrna, 
it existed for four hundred years as a village. After- 
wards Antigonus, and next Lysimachus [successors of 
Alexander the Great], raised it up, and now it is the 
most beautiful of all the cities, the one part of it being 
built on the hill, but the most of it in the plain, adjoining 
the harbor, the temple of Cybele, and the gymnasium. 
It is well laid out in streets, that are straight as far as 
possible. The streets are paved with stones, — and 
there are large square colonnades with a ground floor 
and an upper story. It contains a library, and a tem- 
ple of Homer — a square building, containing the cell 
and a statue of Homer. For they lay special claim to 
the poet, and there is a brass coin among them called 
Homereum. The river Meles flows near the wall."* 

At Smyrna our steamer took in petroleum for Con- 
stantinople. I did not like this much ; our vessel had 
not a sufficient number of boats to rescue the passen- 
gers if anything had happened; but I abandoned all 
idea of danger, and gave myself up to the enjoyment of 
the objects of interest on the voyage. Our passengers 
were a motley crowd. At Alexandretta the Pasha of 
Aleppo came aboard with several of his wives. He 



* Lib. xiv. 37. 



248 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



had them stowed away on the after deck. They were 
Circassians, rather small, with fine features, fair of com- 
plexion. The Pasha was elegantly dressed ; a pretty 
fine-looking man. The deck of our vessel was a curi- 
osity. Here were spread Russians, Jews, and I know 
not how many nationalities. They did their dressing 
on deck. 

We left Smyrna on Friday evening about six o'clock, 
February 4. Next morning, we saw on our left the 
island Lesbos, and about noon we entered the Medi- 
terranean Sea. The northern part of Lesbos is moun- 
tainous. As soon as we entered the sea, we saw 
north of us in the distance Tenedos. We passed 
between this island and the plains of Troy. The dis- 
tance between Tenedos and the mainland, we think, is 
scarcely over five miles. The middle of the island is 
very high. This island is celebrated in the poetic de- 
scriptions of the siege of Troy : 

" In sight is Tenedos, an island well-known to fame, 
Rich in wealth while Priam's kingdom remained."* 

Virgil represents the Trojan fleet as concealing itself 
behind this island. According to Strabo, the island 
is nearly ten miles in circumference. 

In the east side of the island we saw a small town. 
The plains of Troy opposite to Tenedos are but little 
elevated above the sea. We observed several large 
mounds in these plains, and a village on the coast. 
The land seems to be fertile. We saw on our right, 
in the distance, Mount Ida, covered with snow, while 
in the north Imbros rose high out of the water. 



*^£neid, Lib. ii. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



249 



At three and a half p.m. we entered the Dardanelles 
(the Hellespont), guarded by forts at the entrance. 
We looked closely on the right for the mouth of the 
Simois, a stream renowned in Homeric song, but 
looked in vain. We kept along the left bank of the 
strait, which is very high. About dark we passed on 
our right Dardanum. 

Next morning (Sunday) we found ourselves in the 
midst of a heavy snow-storm; and the sea was rough, 
and occasionally the spray broke over the deck. Be- 
tween two and three p.m., in the midst of this snow- 
storm, we anchored in the Bosphorus, at the mouth of 
the Golden Horn. The voyage had occupied us about 
twelve days. A considerable portion of the time the 
weather had been rough, and I suffered more or less 
from sea-sickness. Here then we were in full view of 
the mosques and minarets of the world-renowned city, 
and indeed almost surrounded by the city itself. We 
did not go ashore until next morning. Giving the cus- 
tom-house officer some backshish, he waited the exam- 
ination of our passports and baggage. As the weather 
was bitter cold, I passed on then, in company with 
Mr. Stanley, the foreign correspondent of the New 
York Herald, to the Byzance Hotel, situated on high 
ground, in that part of New Constantinople called 
Pera. The same day I visited Hon. Edward Joy 
Morris, our minister to Constantinople, and handed 
him my letter of introduction from the Secretary of 
State. He received me very kindly and afterwards 
called on Mr. Stanley and myself at our rooms. 
During my stay in Constantinople I dined, by invita- 
tion, with Mr. Morris, at his house, in company with 
Dr. Long and Mr. Goodenough, our consul. Our 



250 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



dinner was most excellent, and I enjoyed both the 
company and the dinner very much. Mr. Morris is a 
highly-cultivated gentleman, — the author of several 
works, a member of the Episcopal Church, and has 
the interest of his country and of Christianity deep at 
heart. Mr. Morris, by his kindness, contributed 
greatly to the enjoyment of my sojourn in Constanti- 
nople. He told me before I left him, if any of my 
friends should visit Constantinople, to give them a 
letter of introduction to him, and he would show them 
every attention. But I shall have no opportunity of 
doing this, as he has since resigned, but whether from 
a request to do so or voluntarily I cannot say; though 
I suspect the former. I cannot but regard it as bad 
policy on the part of our government to make fre- 
quent changes in our foreign ministers. It too often 
happens that when a foreign minister becomes fully 
acquainted with the duties of his office, he is removed 
to make way for some one else who has everything 
pertaining to his new sphere to learn. The minister 
to the Turkish Empire should be rarely changed, per- 
haps never, unless for some very good reason. He 
has the language to learn, which takes several years, 
and the usages of the court to study; and we have 
good reason to believe that the government of the 
Grand Sultan knows very well how to use backshish 
to bring over to its interests foreign representatives. 
But not the shadow of suspicion rests upon Mr. 
Morris of being under Turkish influence; indeed, he 
was too true a patriot and Christian to be popular 
with the Ottoman government. But such a man as this 
is the very kind of representative that we need at Con- 
stantinople. Dr. Long is the Bulgarian missionary of 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



2$l 



the Methodist Episcopal Church. He publishes at 
Constantinople a paper — Zoniitca [Morning Star) — 
in the Bulgarian language. It has a circulation of 
about two thousand. He also preaches in his own 
house. Dr. Long is a man of practical wisdom and 
one of our best scholars. It is but justice to him to 
state that he showed us every attention. We were 
favorably impressed with our consul, Mr. Goodenough. 

The first day I was in Constantinople I went with a 
guide to see the great mosque of St. Sophia. It stands 
very near the Bosphorus, in the eastern part of old 
Stamboul, or Constantinople. It does not appear 
magnificent before entering it, for the surrounding 
buildings obstruct the view. Its length is about two 
hundred and sixty-nine feet, its breadth two hundred 
and forty-three, and the top of the dome is nearly one 
hundred and eighty-eight feet from the floor. The 
building is in the form of a Greek cross. The central 
dome is supported by semi-domes. It has columns of 
porphyry and a great deal of work in mosaic. A 
chandelier hangs in the centre, suspended from the 
centre of the dome. This chandelier is about twenty- 
four feet in diameter. No paintings, no statuary, no 
seats are to be seen in it. Over the large entrance in 
the west end is an open book of the gospels in bronze, 
with an angel above it of the same metal. 

At the entrance of the mosque a Turk demanded the 
admission fee; but the question was about the amount 
of backshish to be given. I offered him three francs. 
This he refused ; nothing but a Turkish dollar would 
satisfy him, and this sum — nearly one dollar of our 
money — had to be counted out to him to the last 
copper. I disliked very much the idea of paying 



252 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



tribute to a Turk to enter an edifice built by Chris- 
tians, and in which Christian worship had been cele- 
brated for nine hundred years. I looked quite savage 
at the greedy Turk, and as I left him I gave vent to 
my indignation, "I wish the Russians would wipe you 
out." As this was said in English, of course he did 
not understand it. I was compelled to take off my 
boots at the entrance, and walk through the mosque in 
my stocking-feet. 

The church that originally stood here, dedicated by 
Constantine to St. Sophia, or the Eternal Wisdom, 
"had been twice destroyed by fire after the exile ot 
John Chrysostom, and during the Nika conquest of 
the blue and green factions." "The emperor Justi- 
nian (a.d. 527-565), in the early part of his reign, had 
the rubbish cleared away and the magnificent church 
erected. Anthemius formed the design, and his 
genius directed the hands of ten thousand workmen, 
whose payment, in pieces of fine silver, was never de- 
layed beyond the evening. The emperor himself, clad 
in a linen tunic, surveyed each day their rapid progress, 
and encouraged their diligence by his familiarity, his 
zeal, and his rewards. The new cathedral of St. 
Sophia was consecrated by the patriarch five years 
eleven months and ten days from the first foundation, 
and in the midst of the solemn festival Justinian ex- 
claimed, with devout vanity, 'Glory be to God, who 
hath thought me worthy to accomplish so great a 
work. I have vanquished thee, O Solomon !' But 
the pride of the Roman Solomon, before twenty years 
had elapsed, was humbled by an earthquake, which 
overthrew the eastern part of the dome. Its splendor 
was restored by the perseverance of the same prince, 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



253 



and in the thirty-sixth year of his reign Justinian cele- 
brated the second dedication of a temple which re- 
mains, after twelve centuries, a stately monument of 
his fame."* 

It was on the 29th of May, 1453, upon the conquest 
of Constantinople, that Mohammed II. "alighted from 
his horse at the principal door of St. Sophia, and en- 
tered the dome By his command the metrop- 
olis of the Eastern Church was transformed into a 
mosque. The rich and portable instruments of super- 
stition had been removed, the crosses were thrown 
down, and the walls, which were covered with images 
and mosaics, were washed and purified, and restored 
to a state of naked simplicity. On the same day, or 
on the ensuing Friday, the muezzin, or crier, ascended 
the most lofty turret and proclaimed the ezan, or 
public invitation, in the name of God and his prophet. 
The imaum preached, and Mohammed II. performed 
the namaz of prayer and thanksgiving on the great 
altar, where the Christian mysteries had so lately been 
celebrated before the last of the Caesars. "f 

Mr. Gibbon remarks: "The architect who first 
erected an aerial cupola is entitled to the praise of 
bold design and skilful execution. The dome of St. 
Sophia, illuminated by four-and-twenty windows, is 
formed with so small a curve that the depth is equal 
only to one-sixth of its diameter. The measure of 
that diameter is one hundred and fifty feet. The 
whole frame of the edifice was constructed of brick, 
but those base materials were concealed by a crust of 
marble." 



* Gibbon, " Decline and Fall," vol. iv. p. 86. f lb., vol. vi. 408. 



254 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



From this magnificent mosque I went to the fire- 
tower, a building about one hundred and fifty feet or 
more high, standing a considerable distance west of 
St. Sophia. When a fire breaks out in Constantinople, 
signals, indicating the locality of the fire, are hung out 
from this tower. These signals are large balls of 
various colors. My ascent of the tower was useless, 
as the snow-storm obscured the town. I repeated my 
visit another day, when I had a fine view of old Stam- 
boul, Galata, and Pera, with the Sea of Marmora, the 
Bosphorus, and the Golden Horn. I had a plan of 
the city in my hand, and I identified the great mosques 
of the town. The mosque of St. Sophia is the only one 
of these mosques, I believe, that antedates the capture 
of the city by the Turks. The houses of Constantino- 
ple are generally covered with tiles. 

Constantinople, or Stamboul (from eis teen polin, into 
the city), as it is called by the Turks, is one of the 
most remarkable cities in the world. Its harbor has 
no equal. On the south side of the city proper, or 
Stamboul, is the Sea of Marmora ; on the east, for a 
short distance, the Bosphorus, which leads into the 
Black Sea, about eighteen miles distant ; on the north- 
east side is the Golden Horn, an arm of the Bosphorus, 
extending up into the land three or four miles. This 
arm is about a quarter of a mile wide and very deep ; 
ships with a hundred and twenty guns can float in it. 
At the upper end of this Horn the Turkish navy-yard 
and naval school are situated; in the lower part of the 
Horn the vessels in port lie at anchor, completely land- 
locked. The land lying between the Sea of Marmora 
and the Golden Horn, on which Stamboul is built, 
is considerably elevated above the Sea of Marmora. 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



255 



North of Stamboul, between the Golden Horn and the 
Bosphorus, is the new city, divided into two parts ; 
the first lying close to the Golden Horn and the Bos- 
phorus, partly on low ground, and partly on the slope 
of the hill ; this division is called Galata. Further 
north on the high hill is the part of the city called 
Pera. Galata and Pera are inhabited almost entirely 
by Christians, principally Greeks, and may be* reckoned 
as a part of Constantinople. On the opposite side of 
Constantinople is Scutari, quite a large town. About 
two-thirds of the population of Stamboul is Moham- 
medan. The whole population of Constantinople, in- 
cluding Galata and Pera, must be at least five or six 
hundred thousand, of which the Christian population 
is about one- half. 

Constantinople has at different times suffered severely 
from fires and from the plague. In the winter season, 
of course, it is healthy ; but in the summer there would 
be great danger to foreigners. 

The city is well supplied with fish. We observed 
there a small mackerel, about one-third the size of 
those caught on the Massachusetts coast. This fish 
is caught in the harbor of Constantinople ; we found 
its flavor most delicious. 

The bazaars of Constantinople are the largest in the 
world, and crowded together in the northern part of 
Stamboul. 

On Thursday, the 10th February, I went on a small 
steamer up the Bosphorus, to a point about five miles 
from the Black Sea, a portion of which was visible. 
The Bosphorus is generally about a mile wide. In the 
narrowest part, which is about a half a mile wide, stand 
old castles on both sides of the strait, built by the 



256 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Turks before they captured Constantinople. Both sides 
of the Bosphorus are lined with villages and residences. 
The scenery was very fine, though winter. We could 
easily imagine what it must be in summer. We saw 
the residence of the British minister on the Bosphorus. 
In the summer our own minister takes up his residence 
on the Bosphorus, about five or six miles from the 
Black Sea. The palace of the Grand Sultan is built 
on the west, or European, side of the strait, not far 
from Constantinople. 

On Friday morning, I went in company with Mr. 
Heuston and his wife, of California, to see the Grand 
Sultan as he came out of his palace to go to the 
mosque. We took a caique and landed near the 
palace. There was some uncertainty in regard to the 
mosque he was going to attend. Turkish troops 
were drawn up near the palace ; on their knapsacks 
we observed the crescent. From these troops we 
passed on to the street into which the Sultan would 
enter when leaving the palace. We took our stand 
near the palace, and we had to wait a long while, per- 
haps an hour or more, before he made his appearance. 
His great officers of state were waiting on horseback 
for him. Carriages containing Circassian females, said 
to be the wives of the Sultan's great officers, passed 
on some time before the Sultan came out. As the 
carriage doors were open, we got a tolerably good look 
at them ; they were but partly veiled ; their features 
were regular and good, and they might have been 
called beautiful if their complexion had not been 
sallow, or rather milk-and-water color. 

At length the Grand Sultan made his appearance on 
horseback. A carriage had also been in readiness, but 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



257 



his Highness concluded to take the open air. He was 
about forty years of age, portly, hair turning gray, and 
bearded. He wore a black suit, with a single star on 
the breast, and a red Turkish cap with black tassel. 
His looks indicated anything rather than the "sick 
man." His name is Abd-ul-Aziz (servant of the Mer- 
ciful One). His son, a boy of about fourteen years of 
age, I should judge, had, on horseback, preceded his 
father. The boy's complexion was not much lighter 
than copper, darker than that of his father. The son 
is not the successor to the Grand Sultan, but the 
Sultan's nephew. 

On the afternoon of the same day, I went with Dr. 
Long to visit the cistern of a thousand and one columns, 
as it is called, though the true number is said to be 
two hundred and thirty-five. This cistern is in the 
southern part of Stamboul. Its covering is on a level 
with the surrounding ground, from which there is 
nothing to distinguish it to the eyes. We descended 
into it by a small opening. Its depth is perhaps fifteen 
feet or more. It was entirely dry, and we found per- 
sons there plying their trade. From this place, we 
passed by the " burnt pillar," the fragment of an ancient, 
lofty column, and paid a visit to the Museum of the Jani- 
zaries. Here we saw many figures in wax-work, repre- 
senting various officers and private individuals in 
ancient costume. We next visited some of the mag- 
nificent bazaars. While walking through the city in the 
afternoon, we observed a muezzin on the balcony of a 
minaret calling the people to prayers. His call was a 
mere sing-song, something like, " Ha-allah-hallah." 
"What is that fellow saying ?" inquired I of Dr. Long. 
"If it were English," replied he, "I could not tell what 



258 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



it is." In Jerusalem, I had heard the cry of the 
muezzin which my Arab guide interpreted : " There 
is no God but God, no prophet but Mohammed." 

We hired a caique, a long, narrow boat, rowed by 
one man, and made an excursion up the Golden Horn 
to the Turkish naval school and navy-yard. It was a 
beautiful afternoon, and the excursion was a very 
pleasant one. We returned before dark. 

Byzantium was founded by the Megarians, 657 B.C. 
A city so advantageously situated could not fail to be 
an object of contention among the powers of the ancient 
world, as it has been among those of the modern. In 
the fifth century before Christ, the Lacedaemonian gen- 
eral, Pausanias, with a joint expedition of Peloponne- 
sians and Athenians, wrested it from the Medes,* and it 
immediately passed into the hands of the Athenians. 
Fluctuating in its allegiance, at one time belonging to 
Athens, at another subject to Lacedaemon, besieged 
by Philip in the age of Demosthenes, but aided by the 
Athenians at the earnest advice of that great orator, it 
succeeded in escaping the grasp of the Macedonian 
conqueror. 

It is said that during this siege of Philip, on a dark 
night, when the inhabitants were hard pressed, a light 
appeared from heaven, — perhaps the moon breaking 
through the clouds, — which revealed to them the posi- 
tion of the besiegers. In commemoration of this event, 
the Byzantians adopted the crescent as their symbol, 
and from them it passed to the Turks upon their cap- 
ture of Constantinople in 1453, a °d is now the symbol 
of the Mohammedan faith. 



* Thucydides, i. 94. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



259 



Byzantium, although engaged in frequent wars with 
powerful foes, maintained its independence until it was 
subdued by the Romans under Vespasian, who made 
it a province of the empire. In the mighty struggle 
between Constantine the Great, Emperor of the West, 
and Licinius, Emperor of the East, Byzantium fell into 
the hands of Constantine, who in a.d. 330, about seven 
years after he had become sole emperor of the Roman 
Empire, made it the capital of his dominion. 

One of the reasons that have been assigned for his 
removal of the seat of government to Byzantium is, 
that many of the noble families of Rome were still 
pagans, whose immediate presence was disagreeable 
to him; but Constantine seems to have judged that 
Christianity was evidently destined to vanquish pa- 
ganism, and that the Christian world should have 
a new capital, and that he, their first great patron, 
should found it for the Christian cause and for his 
own j^lory. 

Gibbon thus describes the laying out of the capital 
by Constantine : " On foot, with a lance in his hand, 
the emperor himself led the solemn procession, and 
directed the line which was traced as the boundary of 
the destined capital, till the growing circumference 
was observed with astonishment by the assistants, who, 
at length, ventured to observe that he had already ex- 
ceeded the most ample measure of a great city. ' I 
shall still advance,' replied Constantine, ' till He, the 
invisible guide who marches before me, thinks proper 
to stop.'"* 

In the time of Chrysostom the Christian population 



* " Decline and Fall," vol. ii. p. 95. 



260 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



of the city, by far the greatest, was about one hundred 
thousand. But already in the time of Severus, in 
the first part of the third century, there were many 
Christians in Byzantium. 

Constantinople became the capital of the Empire of 
the East under Arcadius, a.d. 395, while Honorius 
became Emperor of the West. Constantinople con- 
tinued to be the capital of the Greek Empire until 
1453, with the exception of the time that it was the 
capital of the Latin Empire ( 1 204-1261) after its cap- 
ture in the fourth crusade by the Venetians and 
French. 

In the seventh century, and also in the eighth, Con- 
stantinople was besieged by the Arabs, but they were 
compelled to retreat. Four expeditions were fitted out 
against the city by the Russians in the ninth, tenth, 
and eleventh centuries. In 1422 the Sultan Amu- 
rath II., with two hundred thousand Turks, besieged 
the city, but was compelled to retire. 

But the city that had resisted successfully so many 
assailants was doomed at last to fall. Internal weak- 
ness, arising from the irreconcilable enmity between 
those of the Greek and Latin faith, and the indifference 
of the Christian powers of the West, afforded the 
Moslems an opportunity of accomplishing what they 
had long designed. 

No sooner had Mohammed II. ascended the throne 
than he formed the plan of capturing the coveted city. 
The grandfather of Mohammed II. had built a fort on 
the Asiatic side of the narrowest part* of the Bos- 



* We judged the strait in this place to be about half a mile wide. 
Here Darius had before crossed. 



AND THE HOL V LA AD. 



261 



phorus. In the spring of the year 1452, Mohammed 
II. assembled a thousand masons to build a fort on the 
European side of the strait opposite to the fort of his 
grandfather. u Each of the thousand masons was 
assisted by two workmen ; and a measure of two 
cubits was marked for their daily task. The fortress 
was built in a triangular form ; each angle was flanked 
by a strong and massy tower; one on the declivity of 
the hill, two along the sea-shore: a thickness of 
twenty-two feet was assigned for the walls, thirty for 
the towers, and the whole building was covered with 
a solid platform of lead."* It was in vain that the 
Greek emperor had remonstrated against the building 
of this fortress. 

On the 6th of April, 1453, the siege of Constanti- 
nople began. Mohammed II. assembled a force of 
two hundred and fifty-eight thousand. The Propontis 
was covered with a Turkish fleet of three hundred and 
twenty sail. On the west side of the city, the land 
side, the Sultan extended a double wall and a ditch of 
a hundred feet deep from the Golden Horn to the 
Propontis. Across the mouth of the Golden Horn a 
great chain had been stretched to keep out the Turk- 
ish fleet. 

The Turks directed their attack with great vigor 
against the double wall on the west of the city, but 
were repelled with great valor by the Emperor Con- 
stantine Palseologus with his garrison of seven or 
eight thousand men. The Turkish cannon made 
breaches in the walls, but the industry of the Chris- 
tians soon repaired these breaches. Provisions were 



* Gibbon. 



262 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



growing scarce in the city, but a fleet of five ships 
from the harbor of Chios was seen sailing up the 
Propontis ; they attacked the Turkish fleet that was 
stretched across the Bosphorus in the form of a cres- 
cent. A desperate conflict ensues, but the five Chris- 
tian ships inflict terrible slaughter upon the enemy 
and safely enter the harbor of the Golden Horn within 
the chain, laden with their precious treasures. It was 
impossible for the Turks to break this chain, defended 
by more than thirty vessels. The attacks upon the 
walls on the west had been unsuccessful, and Mo- 
hammed might well have despaired of capturing the 
city. In this embarrassment, his genius invented and 
executed the bold plan of transporting his vessels on 
land from the Bosphorus into the upper part of the 
harbor of the Golden Horn, a distance of about five 
miles. "A level way was covered with a broad plat- 
form of strong and solid planks ; and to render them 
more slippery and smooth, they were anointed with 
the fat of sheep and oxen. Fourscore light galleys 
and brigantines, of fifty and thirty oars, were disem- 
barked on the Bosphorus shore ; arranged successively 
on rollers, and drawn forward by the power of men 
and pulleys. Two guides or pilots were stationed at 
the helm and the prow of each vessel ; the sails were 
unfurled to the winds ; and the labor was cheered by 
song and acclamation. In the course of a single 
night this Turkish fleet painfully climbed the hill, 
steered over the plain and was launched from the de- 
clivity into the shallow waters of the harbor [of the 
Golden Horn] far above the molestation of the deeper 
vessels of the Greeks. The real importance of this 
operation was magnified by the consternation and con- 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



263 



fidence which it inspired ; but the notorious, unques- 
tionable fact was displayed before the eyes and is 
recorded by the pens of the two nations."* 

Having gained a new point of attack, Mohammed 
pressed the siege with great vigor. " After a siege of 
forty days, the fate of Constantinople could be no 
longer averted. The diminutive garrison was ex- 
hausted by double attack : the fortifications which 
had stood for ages against hostile violence were dis- 
mantled on all sides by the Ottoman cannon ; many 
breaches were opened ; and near the gate of St. Ro- 
manus four towers had been leveled with the ground." 

On the evening of the 27th of May, 1453, Mo- 
hammed gave orders to prepare for the final assault. 
After diligent, and as far as possible noiseless, prepara- 
tion, at daybreak on the morning of the 29th May, 
the Turks assaulted the city by sea and land. "From 
the lines, the galleys, and the bridge the Ottoman 
artillery thundered on all sides. The double walls 
were reduced by the cannon to a heap of ruins." 

The walls and towers were soon covered with a 
swarm of Turks who drove the Christians headlong, 
"and rushed through the breaches of the inner wall; 
and as they advanced into the streets they were soon 
joined by their brethren who had forced the gate 
Phenae on the side of the harbor. In the first heat of 
the pursuit, about two thousand Christians were put 
to the sword." Multitudes of all classes fled into the 
church of St. Sophia for shelter. " In the space of 
an hour, the male captives were bound with cords, 
the females with their veils and girdles. The senators 



* Gibbon, " Decline and Fall," vol. vi. p. 394. 



264 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



were linked with their slaves, the prelates with the 
porters of the church." "At the same hour a similar 
rapine was exercised in all the churches and monas- 
teries, in all the palaces and habitations of the capital ; 
nor could any place, however sacred or sequestered, 
protect the persons or the property of the Greeks. 
Above sixty thousand of this devoted people were 
transported from the city to the camp and fleet, ex- 
changed or sold according to the caprice or interest 
of their masters, and dispersed in remote servitude 
through the provinces of the Ottoman Empire." 

Thus fell Constantinople, but not without the most 
determined resistance on the part of the emperor; and 
Gibbon remarks : " The distress and fall of the last 
Constantine are more glorious than the long prosperity 
of the Byzantine Caesars." The noble emperor fell by 
some unknown hand in the final assault upon the 
city. 

Before leaving Constantinople we cannot refrain 
from offering some reflections on the Turkish Empire. 

The opinion prevails in the United States and in 
Europe that Turkey is fast becoming enlightened, and 
that equal rights are enjoyed by all classes of the 
Porte's subjects. It is true there are decrees of the 
Sultan, making all his subjects equal before the law, 
with the privilege of choosing their own religion ; and 
decrees establishing a public system of education. But 
what are the facts in the case ? 

A Mohammedan holding official position under the 
Turkish government would lose his office if he em- 
braced Christianity ; and I have been assured that in 
Turkish courts the evidence of Christians against 
Moslems goes for nothing. 



AND THE HOLY LAXD. 



265 



A public system of education exists on paper only. 
The ignorance that prevails from the Bosphorus to the 
Nile is astonishing. In Egypt, we could rarely find 
an Arab who could read his own language. And all 
through the Turkish Empire, to see a native reading 
is a singularity. As for the arts and sciences, the con- 
veniences and improvements of civilized nations, — in 
the mind of a Moslem, all these things are associated 
with the Christian ideas that he hates ; and to infuse 
Christian ideas into the Mohammedan system is like 
pouring new wine into an old bottle, in which case the 
bottle is sure to be broken. 

And what have the Turks done with the fairest 
portion of the East ? Let the ignorance and the poverty 
of the people answer. When a Turkish pasha becomes 
intolerable to the people of his pashalic, and a great 
outcry is raised against him, he is sent to another dis- 
trict to plunder that. The Pasha of Smyrna receives 
six thousand pounds a year, — more than the President 
of the United States receives. He regulates the price 
of beef in Smyrna ; of course, if his funds are low, you 
may expect beef to rise. 

The Turkish government, I understand, has Euro- 
pean journals in its pay, who extol the decrees of the 
Sublime Porte, — -issued in obedience to the sentiment 
of the civilized world, and hardly enforced at all, — as 
the strongest proof of the progress and enlightenment 
of Turkey. So long as the executive power remains 
with the Mohammedans, the Christian subjects of the 
Porte will be ill-treated. Look at the massacre of the 
Christians a few years ago, and the recent cruelties of 
the Turks to the insurgent Cretans, whose subjugation 
cost the Porte as much as the Crimean war. This state 



266 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



of things can hardly endure long. Three-fourths of 
European Turkey are Christian. In Asia Minor, the 
Christian population is one-fourth. And what sym- 
pathy can they have with the Turkish government? 
The Khedive of Egypt is ready for revolt, and Russia 
is actively engaged in building railroads that will 
enable her to concentrate with rapidity a million of 
men at any given point on her southwest border. 

But who are responsible for this miserable state of 
things ? France and England, in upholding Turkey 
against Russia. I have frequently told Englishmen 
that the Crimean war on their part was a mistake, and 
they have generally admitted it. But the war did one 
thing for Russia, — it showed her what she needed to 
enable her to use to advantage her enormous resources. 

Russia is watching with eagle eye all the movements 
that affect the Turkish Empire, with the view of incor- 
porating as much as possible of it into her own em- 
pire when the " sick man" dies. Russia expects the 
Greek element in the Turkish dominion to gravitate 
towards her, and hence the deep anxiety she feels re- 
specting the religious movements in Bulgaria. i( What 
are your missionaries doing in Bulgaria?" inquired the 
Russian Ambassador at Constantinople, of a high 
official of the American government there. And 
Russia has something to fear in the matter. For, as 
our minister to Constantinople observed to me, the 
American missionaries, by their translation of the 
Scriptures into the Bulgarian language, and by their 
publications in that language, have done a great deal 
to develop among the people a spirit of nationality, 
and, of course, independence. 

But into whatever hands the Turkish Empire may 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



267 



fall, it is hardly possible that the condition of the peo- 
ple will be as bad as it is now. It seems to me the 
Turks spoil everything they get hold of, and I have 
sometimes remarked that they would destroy the very 
sun in the heavens if they could reach him. 

In speaking of Turkey, I must not omit a powerful 
element that is quietly exerting its influence in the 
Turkish Empire, — Greek culture. 

The University of Athens had, more than two years 
ago, over twelve hundred students. Many of these 
educated Greeks are physicians who practice medicine 
in the Turkish Empire, and their influence will be 
great, religiously and politically. 

We have already remarked that we were introduced 
to Mr. Stanley, the foreign correspondent of the New 
York Herald. I came with him from Beirut to Con- 
stantinople, in the same steamer ; our relations became 
such that he ventured to intrust to me a most pro- 
found secret, which he most solemnly bound me not 
to divulge till published from other sources, — which I 
most religiously kept. " I am sent out," said he, "by 
Mr. Bennett, of the New York Herald, in search of Dr. 
Livingstone. I am going to a port on the Black Sea, 
from which I shall pass through Asia, by Bagdad, to 
the eastern coast of Africa. And when I find Living- 
stone I will telegraph to the Herald everything about 
him, ' every sigh.' "* 

* This was about February 10, 1S70. 




268 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



CHAPTER X. 

From Constantinople to Syra. — Arrival in the Piraeus, Athens. — 
Impressions made in entering it. — The Temple of Olympian Zeus. — 
Tlissus. — Stadium. — Lycabettus. — Pentelicus. — Plain of Marathon. — 
A Visit to Eleusis. — Acropolis. — The Parthenon. — Theatre of Bac- 
chus. — Areopagus. — Paul's Preaching there. — The Bema and Pnyx. 
— The History of Athens. — Departure for Corfu. — The Isthmus of 
Corinth. — Incidents of the Voyage. — Arrival in Corfu. — From Corfu 
to Brindisi. — From Brindisi to Bologna. — Arrival in Venice. — 
Description of Venice and its History. 

On Saturday morning, February 12, I embarked 
upon the Austrian steamer, the Urano, for the Piraeus ; 
before leaving the small boat in the harbor to enter the 
steamer, my baggage was carefully examined. Dr. 
Long came aboard to bid me farewell. The steamer 
started about eleven a.m. The boat was swift and steady, 
and in two or three hours Constantinople disappeared 
from our view. On Sunday morning we found ourselves 
already out of the Hellespont, in the ALgean Sea. The 
morning was delightful. About noon we passed the 
narrow strait between Andros (Andro) and Tinos 
(Tino). All the islands of the ^Egean Sea are high and 
rugged. About two or three p.m. we reached the har- 
bor of Syra, on the island Syra. Here I had myself 
and baggage transferred to another vessel that was to 
leave that evening for the Piraeus. I agreed to give 
the man who performed this service one franc. Before 
reaching the vessel, I handed him a five-franc piece, 
out of which he was to take his pay. So far was he 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 269 



from giving me back four francs change, that he coolly 
said, "Another one." I took my five-franc piece out 
of his hand, and got it changed when I reached the 
vessel. There were several Americans in our ship 
from Constantinople ; among them a Mr. and Mrs. 
Clarke, and a Mr. Johnson. We went ashore and took 
a stroll over the town. It is a beautiful Greek city, 
lying close to the harbor, on level ground, and also on 
a steep hill-side. It has a population of about twenty- 
five thousand, and is the most commercial place in 
Greece. Its cleanliness strongly contrasts with the 
dirty cities of the Orient. The harbor is very fine, 
lying on the east side of the island. 

We visited two of their churches. In one they were 
reading a funeral service. The Greek priest stood at 
a revolving desk, and when he had finished the service 
from one book, he turned round his desk and brought 
another open book in front of him. I saw two tomb- 
stones intended for the grave of the deceased. On the 
headstone was the name, BouAavazr] (Boulanake), and 
also the cross with twelve stars between two Greek 
flags. On the footstone was a cross only. 

I was interested in reading the Greek names on the 
houses and translating them into English. But when I 
read over the door of one of the stores, " Kapnopoleion," 
I was puzzled; " Kapnos" said I to myself, "means 
smoke, and poleion means selling, selling smoke. What 
can that mean? Perhaps they sell lamp-wicks here." 
But I was wide of the mark. The modern Greeks call 
tobacco kapnos, smoke. It was a tobacco-shop. It 
was Sunday, and the people were well dressed. 

That night we left for the Piraeus. Next morning we 
found ourselves fast approaching the Sunium promon- 

2 3* 



270 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



tory, in the southeast part of Attica, near the island of 
Tzia. The Sunium promontory is high and barren. 
As we came up the Saronic Gulf, the Acropolis of 
Athens became visible in the distance ; and at about 
noon our boat anchored in the Piraeus. This harbor 
is not very large, but sufficient for the purposes of 
Athens, and is altogether safe, its entrance being nar- 
row. There were several vessels lying at anchor. A 
small town is built up at the head of the Piraeus. 

We went ashore in a small boat, and then took a 
carriage over a very good road to Athens, which we 
reached in about an hour, the distance being five miles. 
We stepped out of our carriage into a fine hotel, in the 
east part of the city, and after obtaining something to 
eat, we commenced a survey of the classic city. 

I was delighted with the new city of Athens, laid 
out in wide streets, crossing each other at right angles, 
with well-built houses and well-furnished stores, in- 
cluding several excellent hotels. It seemed as if the 
old Greeks had really come to life. The names of the 
streets Greek, dealers and artisans with names as long 
as those of Actaeon's hounds, Greek newspapers, a 
Greek university, and men, women, and children 
actually speaking the language, — who can say that 
the Greek is a dead language ? 

Athens contains a population of about forty-two 
thousand, which has grown up within the last thirty 
years, for Mrs. Hill, in Athens, remarked to me that 
about forty years ago there was not a single house in 
Athens. Athens contains, as we have remarked, a 
university, in which the various sciences are taught, 
including that of medicine. About twelve hundred 
students were attending it two years ago. It has a 
library of about one hundred thousand volumes. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



271 



But I was especially interested in the antiquities of 
the ancient city. I went first to see the remains of 
the famous temple of Jupiter, near the Ilissus, on the 
southeast border of Athens. This celebrated temple 
was commenced in the sixth century before Christ, by 
Pisistratus, and was completed by the Emperor Had- 
rian, nearly seven hundred years having elapsed from 
its commencement to its completion. Sixteen col- 
umns, with their architraves, are the only remains of 
this magnificent temple, which was three hundred and 
fifty-four feet in length by one hundred and seventy- 
one in breadth. These sixteen columns are fluted, of 
the Corinthian order of architecture. Their height is 
said to be over sixty feet, and their diameter six and a 
half feet. We observed that the separate pieces, of 
which each column is composed, were not well ad- 
justed, but seem to have been displaced by an earth- 
quake, or some tremendous explosion, perhaps that 
of the powder-magazine in the Parthenon, in 1687, 
when Athens was besieged by the Venetians. North- 
east of this temple is the arch of Hadrian. 

From the remains of this we crossed over the Ilissus 
at the fountain of Callirrhoe. This celebrated fountain 
44 flows from the foot of a broad ridge of rocks, which 
crosses the bed of the Ilissus, and over which the 
river forms a waterfall when it is full." The Ilissus is 
an exceedingly small stream. South of the Ilissus, 
and above the fountain of Callirrhoe, between two 
hills, is the ancient Panathenaic stadium, or race- 
course. The narrow vale opens at the Ilissus, to 
which it is nearly perpendicular. The stadium has 
been cleared from the accumulated dirt, and its origi- 
nal form is clearly seen. 



2J2 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Next morning, in company with Mr. Johnson, I 
walked out to Mount Lycabettus and ascended it to the 
top. It is a narrow, rocky peak, something more than 
a mile northeast of the Acropolis, and attains a height 
of about nine hundred feet. On its summit is a small 
Greek chapel. From this summit I had a fine view of 
the vale of Attica and the city of Athens. In the 
north, beyond the Cephissus, a white column marks 
the site of the Academy of Plato. 

On Wednesday morning, in company with Dr. Keep, 
our consul at Athens, I went on horseback to Mount 
Pentelicus, about thirteen miles northeast of Athens. 
Our road lay by the convent near the foot of Penteli- 
cus. The ascent of Pentelicus was here rough, and 
in some places quite steep. We stopped some time at 
the marble-quarry on our way up. The marble is of 
a beautiful white color. The Parthenon at Athens is 
built of this marble. At this quarry we entered a 
large cave. Dismounting our horses near the summit, 
we ascended to the top on foot. At first, for a con- 
siderable while, we were enveloped in clouds, and 
feared that the principal object of our visit — to obtain 
a view of the Plain of Marathon — would be frustrated. 
At length the clouds broke away, and we had a fine 
view of the immortal plain, extending up from the sea 
between two ranges of hills. It was at the head of 
this plain that Miltiades, with his small Greek force, — 
not more than eleven thousand, — met and drove into 
the sea the invading host of Persians led on by Datis 
and Artaphernes. This famous battle was fought B.C. 
490, and had the most powerful effect upon the subse- 
quent history of Athens. It saved Athens not only 
at that time, but inspired her citizens with confidence 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



273 



in their own prowess, which secured them victory in 
the future. From the top of Pentelicus we had also a 
fine view of the vale of Attica, Salamis, /Egina, 
Eubcea, Euripus, and the sea beyond. 

On our way back to Athens we stopped at a Greek 
convent and dined. We did not see many men nor 
many books here. 

There is but little good wood in Attica; in the 
region of Pentelicus there are some small trees, mostly 
pines. We reached Athens about six o'clock. 

On the following Saturday morning I rode on horse- 
back, in company with a guide, to Eleusis, a small 
town at the head of the Gulf of Eleusis (or Levsina), 
about thirteen miles northwest of Athens. The ride 
was a most beautiful one. We first passed through 
the olive-groves watered by the Cephissus, which is 
divided into several streams for the purpose of irriga- 
tion. These streams were quite strong. The Ilissus, 
on the southeast of Athens, is hardly anything in com- 
parison with this Cephissus. We saw on the left of 
the road the Botanical Garden. When we were 
about five miles from Athens, our road ascended a 
range of hills, and soon after this we observed on our 
left, near the road, the convent of Daphne, and still 
farther to the left the beautiful pine-grove of Daphne. 
The last four or five miles of our journey was around 
the head of the beautiful bay of Levsina. My object 
in visiting Eleusis was to see the remains of the temple 
of Ceres, or Demeter. We came upon these ruins on 
reaching the border of the modern village of Eleusis, 
or rather Levsina. The remains of the temple consist 
of broken statues, columns, remains of aqueducts, in- 
scriptions, etc. The inscriptions were generally Greek, 



2; 4 



A JOURNEY TO EGYFT 



but some were Latin. The architecture of the temple 
was partly composite. This famous temple of Ceres, 
or Demeter, was built several centuries before Christ. 
In the days of paganism the Eleusinian mysteries 
were highly celebrated, and initiation into these sacred 
rites was thought to convey special advantages. The 
greater mysteries were celebrated at Athens and 
Eleusis for nine days, in the month of Bcedromion 
(corresponding to the last half of September and the 
first of October with us), in each year. On the fifth 
day of the festival, in the evening, the initiated, follow- 
ing a torch-bearer, proceeded to the temple in Eleusis. 

We returned to Athens about noon. I had ob- 
served, during my journey to Eleusis, a flock of sheep, 
and noticed especially their bleating, which sounded 
exactly like the bleating of the sheep of our own 
country. This illustrates the pronunciation of the i) 
(eta) by the ancient Greeks, for one of their ancient 
writers remarks of a certain individual, " He, like a 
silly sheep, goes crying ftrj," The pronunciation of 
the modern Greek is generally very different from the 
manner in which ancient Greek is pronounced in the 
United States and in Europe; but I was gratified to 
hear my guide pronounce xopa^ — a raven, a bird 
larger than a crow — just as we do. Some of the 
modern Greek writers do not differ widely in their 
language from the ancient writers, and I think the 
tendency is to follow to a great extent the style of 
these ancient models. 

While in Athens I made a careful examination of 
the Parthenon, Theatre of Bacchus, Pnyx, Bema, and 
the Areopagus, of the three latter places especially. 

The Acropolis lies south of the present city of 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



275 



Athens, which extends to its foot. The Acropolis 
is a ridge rising to the height of about five hundred 
and eighty feet above the sea, but not more than two 
hundred and fifty or three hundred feet above the plain 
of the city. This ridge is said to be about one thou- 
sand feet long and five hundred wide. It is so steep 
that it is accessible on the west side only. 

The glory of the Acropolis is the Parthenon, — the 
Temple of the Virgin, — built of Pentelican marble by 
Pericles in the most splendid period of Grecian history. 
It appears to have been finished between 445 and 437 
B.C. The artist who superintended the work was 
Phidias, the celebrated sculptor. The columns form- 
ing the peristyle still remain. They are of the Doric 
style of architecture, and fluted. I found one of the 
columns, which seem to be uniform in size, six feet 
and nearly three inches in diameter. The top is en- 
tirely open. We found the length of the temple, 
measured from the outside of the columns, to be 
about one hundred and seventy-one feet, and the 
breadth, measured in the same way, to be about 
eighty-four feet. It is said there is not a straight line 
in the building, but that all the edges are curves. 

The Parthenon was dedicated to the Virgin mother 
probably in the sixth century. Upon the conquest of 
Athens by the Turks, after the fall of Constantinople 
in 1453, the Parthenon was converted into a mosque, 
and until the year 1687 it remained almost entire, with 
the exception of the roof. "In 1687, when Athens 
was besieged by the Venetians under Morosini, a shell, 
falling into the Parthenon, inflamed the gunpowder 
which had been placed by the Turks in the eastern 
chamber, and reduced the centre of the Parthenon to 



276 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



a heap of ruins. The walls of the eastern chamber 
were thrown down, together with all the interior col- 
umns and the adjoining columns of the peristyle. Of 
the northern side of the peristyle eight columns were 
wholly or partially thrown down, and of the southern 
six columns, while of the pronaos only one column 
was left standing. The two fronts escaped, together 
with a portion of the western chamber. . . At the 
beginning of the present century many of the finest 
sculptures of the Parthenon were removed to England. 
In 1827 the Parthenon received fresh injury from the 
bombardment of the city in that year; but even in its 
present state of desolation the magnificence of its 
ruins still strikes the spectator with astonishment and 
admiration."* 

At the southwest corner of the Parthenon is a small 
building, — the Temple of Wingless Victory, — and on 
the northwest the Erechtheium, or Temple of Erech- 
theus, one of the earliest divinities of Athens. On 
the south side of this edifice stand the Caryatides, 
columns in the form of female figures. 

At the foot of the Acropolis, on the south side, are 
the remains of the Theatre of Bacchus, excavated a 
few years ago. The seats are laid bare, arranged con- 
centrically on the rising ground on the side of the 
Acropolis, the orchestra being the lowest. What 
especially attracted our attention was the row of 
marble chairs extending around the orchestra, on 
which were inscribed the names of the different divini- 
ties at whose altars the priests occupying these chairs 
officiated. The priests had the chief seats in the 



* Smith's "Dictionary of Roman and Greek Geography." 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



277 



theatre. Further up among- the seats we observed a 
marble chair, with the inscription Euepyezou, Benefac- 
tor s (seat). This seat seems to have been reserved for 
some one who rendered signal services to Athens. 
All the inscriptions were in Greek. This theatre was 
said to hold thirty thousand persons, which, how- 
ever, from its present appearance, we greatly doubt. 

The spot in Athens the most interesting to the 
Christian is the Areopagus, or Hill of Mars, so called 
from the tradition that the god Mars was here tried and 
condemned. The Areopagus is a narrow ledge of rock, 
nearly west of the Acropolis. This ledge rises grad- 
ually from a ravine, and extends in an eastward direc- 
tion towards the Acropolis for about one hundred and 
fifty yards, and abruptly terminates when about one 
hundred yards from the Acropolis. At the northeast 
end the perpendicular height is about forty feet; at the 
southeast end, about thirty feet. A few feet from this 
perpendicular end, on the south side, sixteen steps 
remain cut out of the rock, by which the ascent to the 
Areopagus was made. These steps begin about five feet 
from the ground. Originally there were lower steps, 
doubtless, which have worn away in the lapse of time. 
The height of the Areopagus where these steps ascend 
is about twenty-five or thirty feet. At the top of these 
steps are two seats cut out of the rock facing each other, 
where it is probable the accused and the accuser sat. 
On the south side of the Areopagus is the Agora, or 
market-place, a grassy spot, quite level ; we found by 
measurement and computation the southeast end of 
the Areopagus, to which the steps ascend and where 
the judges sat, to be about four hundred yards from 
the Bema of the Pnyx. 

24 



2;8 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



That this ledge of rock is the Areopagus there can 
be no doubt. Herodotus relates that when the Acro- 
polis was besieged by Xerxes, " the Persians took 
their position upon a hill opposite to the Acropolis, 
which the Athenians call Areopagus. . . . Here, put- 
ting tow around their arrows, and setting them on fire, 
they shot them into the enclosure (of the Acropolis)."* 
There is no other hill from which arrows could be shot 
into the Acropolis but from the one now known as 
the Areopagus. There is also a passage in Pausanias 
that fixes its position. 

On the southeast end, then, of this ledge of rock, 
when he had ascended these very steps that now re- 
main, stood, beyond all doubt, the great Apostle to the 
Gentiles, and delivered the eloquent and sublime ad- 
dress to the Athenians recorded in the seventeenth 
chapter of Acts. St. Paul " disputed daily in the 
market (Agora) with them that met with him." From 
the market-place, — on the south side of the Areopa- 
gus, — where he was encountered by the Epicureans 
and Stoics, he was brought up the steps to the Areo- 
pagus. The address was delivered not to the judges 
of the Areopagus only but to the whole crowd in the 
market below, who doubtless followed the Apostle to 
the foot of the steps. " Ye men of Athens," is the 
opening salutation, " I perceive that in all things ye 
are very religious" (not too superstitious). He tells 
them, however, that their religious zeal is not directed 
by knowledge. 

During one of the visits that I made to the Areo- 
pagus, standing somewhere near where the Apostle 



* Book viii. 52. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



stood, I read his address in the Acts. The position 
occupied by the Apostle was a commanding one. He 
stood in the very midst of the metropolis of the in- 
tellectual world. About a hundred yards from him 
rose the Acropolis, crowned with the magnificent Par- 
thenon and its splendid statuary. On the hill-side, 
beyond a small ravine, scarcely a quarter of a mile 
distant, was the Bema, cut out of the solid rock, on 
which Demosthenes had stood, whose thundering elo- 
quence had awakened the Athenians to the designs of 
Philip of Macedon. Beyond the Agora and the Pnyx 
with the adjacent hill were spread out the Saronic 
Gulf and the Sea ; and in the southwest the Piraeus, 
crowded with canvas. In the southeast rose the 
range of Hymettus ; and in the northeast Pentelicus 
and Lycabettus, and in the distance beyond the 
Cephissus was the academic grove of Plato. 

The crowd that St. Paul addressed was a motley 
one, of which the judges of the Areopagus formed the 
most august part. The court of the Areopagus was 
the highest and the most venerable in Athens. Its 
origin is lost in a remote antiquity. It was reorganized 
by Solon, and its powers were abridged by Pericles in 
the most splendid period of Grecian history. But 
amid all the fluctuations of the Athenian common- 
wealth this court maintained its pre-eminence. It 
was composed of those who had been archons of 
Athens ; they passed out of the archonship into the 
Areopagus, where they held their position for life. It 
is impossible to fix the number of the judges, which 
probably varied considerably at different times. 

"^Eschines against Demosthenes," speaks of the 
Areopagus as " that stern tribunal, the arbiter of the 



280 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



weightiest matters." It must be borne in mind, how- 
ever, that this was not the court that condemned 
Socrates to death ; that court was the dicastery, one 
of the common courts of Athens. 

The crowd before the Apostle was made up of all 
shades of belief. There stood the atheist, who, in 
contemplating the wonderful frame of the universe, 
with all its parts, its harmonies and its exquisite con- 
trivances, could find in it nothing higher than himself. 
Close by his side stood the idolater, whose supersti- 
tious soul bowed down to wood and stone. These 
were the two extremes, between which were found 
Stoics, Peripatetics, the followers of the New Academy, 
and others too tedious to enumerate. 

The Apostle begins with the " unknown God," and 
advances by a beautiful gradation to the distinctive 
features of Christianity. But this eloquent and phi- 
losophical discourse he was not allowed to finish ; for 
when he had advanced as far as the resurrection of 
Christ and a future judgment, they mocked and broke 
up the assembly. 

How changed are Athens and the world from what 
they were then ! At that time paganism covered the 
whole earth, with the exception of the small district 
of Palestine. Christianity was a sect everywhere 
spoken against, while paganism was supported by the 
traditions of more than a thousand years, and defended 
and patronized by the state and the mass of the phi- 
losophers. But the doctrines of the despised Naza- 
rene " confounded the Grecian schools in the fair con- 
flict of reason with reason. The bravest and the 
wisest of the Caesars found their arms and their policy 
unavailing when opposed to the weapons that were 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



not carnal and to the kingdom that was not of this 
world." 

In less than three hundred years after St. Paul stood 
on Mars Hill, Christianity had become the religion 
of the Roman Empire under Constantine ; and it now 
covers the civilized world, and is the faith of the noblest 
part of the human race. The gods of Greece, like the 
owls and bats of night,, fled before the rising sun of 
Christianity into the dark places of the earth. 

About five hundred yards west of the Acropolis is 
theBema of the Pnyx. ThePnyx — where the Athenian 
citizens held their political meetings, were addressed 
by their great orators, and voted on public measures 
— is a horizontal plane in the form of a semi-ellipse. It 
stands on the northeast slope of a hill, the upper part 
being formed by cutting down the solid rock of the 
hill to the depth of about ten feet, presenting the ap- 
pearance of a perpendicular wall; where the surface of 
this wall meets the horizontal plane is the minor axis 
of the semi-ellipse. This axis is not straight, but in- 
clines at each end towards the extremity of the semi- 
major axis. The lower part of this semi-ellipse is 
formed by a raised wall of stone ten or fifteen feet 
high where the ground is lowest at the end of the 
semi-major axis. We made a careful measurement of 
the Pnyx and Bema with a tape-line. Length of minor 
axis one hundred and twenty-one yards ; length of 
semi-major axis, or depth of ellipse, eighty-one yards 
and a fifth. This gives about seven thousand seven 
hundred square yards of surface. Yet Smith, in his 
"Dictionary of Antiquities," gives its area at twelve 
thousand square yards, which is certainly wrong. The 
Bema, upon which the speaker stood, is of solid rock, 

24* 



282 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



standing on the middle of the minor axis, at the upper 
part of the ellipse, is ten feet high, not twenty, as stated 
by Smith in his " Dictionary," and is on a level with the 
ground immediately above the Bema. This Bema is 
simply the natural rock not cut down as it is on both 
sides of it to form the plane of the Pnyx. We found 
the width of the Bema to be a little more than eleven 
feet, and its depth — that is, a line drawn in the direc- 
tion of its semi-major axis — nine and a third feet. The 
Bema is almost entire. The speaker, standing on the 
Bema, would look northeast in the direction of the 
Temple of Theseus, not towards the Agora, as we have 
seen stated. The Bema rests upon a platform cut out 
of the solid rock. This platform is more than twenty- 
seven feet wide at top, and has a depth of eighteen 
feet. It is about three feet high, and is ascended by 
three steps. The Bema itself is ascended on both 
of its sides by six steps, being nearly seven feet 
higher than the platform. We observed two or three 
stone seats at the base of the Bema. The Saronic 
Gulf and Sea are not visible from the Bema, but an 
elevation of three or four feet more would bring them 
into view. The ground back of the Bema is several 
feet higher than the Bema. 

Upon this Bema stood some of the greatest men of 
Greece ; Pericles, the great statesman of whom Thucy- 
dides remarks that the democracy of Athens was 
wholly swayed by him ; when it was despondent, he 
buoyed it up ; when it was too confident, he checked 
it. Here too stood Demosthenes, the greatest orator 
of the ancient world, and proclaimed his sagacious 
policy and aroused the Athenians against Philip. And 
here stood his great rival iEschines, and in elegant, 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



283 



well-turned Greek periods impeached the policy and 
integrity of the great statesman. Standing on this 
Bema, I hurled some passages out of the Philippics 
against Philip and the Athenians, and added some 
Americanisms to them. 

With a compass I took the following angles of the 
direction of several places from the Bema, making no 
allowance for magnetic variation. West end of Par- 
thenon, S. 84 E. East end of Areopagus, N. 82)4° 
E. Lycabettus, N. 70 E. Temple of Theseus, N. 32 
E. Observatory, N. 12 W. The direction from the 
Bema, in which the semi-minor axis of the ellipse runs, 
is S. 59 E. 

About six hundred yards northwest of the Acropolis 
is the Temple of Theseus, the best preserved ancient 
edifice in Athens. " It was at the same time a temple 
and a tomb, having been built to receive the bones of 
Theseus, which Cimon had brought from Scyros to 
Athens, B.C. 469." The temple is thus twenty-five or 
thirty years older than the Parthenon. The whole 
length of the temple is one hundred and fifteen feet by 
forty-nine, including the peristyle. The length of the 
naos, or temple proper, is about sixty feet. The columns 
of the peristyle are thirty-four in number, about thirty- 
three feet high, and of the Doric order. This is cer- 
tainly one of the very oldest, if not the oldest temple 
in the world ; for the only sacred edifices that can vie 
with it — outside of Egypt — in point of antiquity, are 
the temples at Psestum, in Italy, the date of which, 
however, is uncertain, though they must antedate the 
Christian era by several centuries. When we visited 
the Temple of Theseus, the Greek soldiers were drilling 
in the open ground south of the temple. 



284 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



On the north side of the Acropolis, at its foot, is 
a small octagonal tower " with its eight sides facing 
respectively the direction of the eight winds, into which 
the Athenian compass was divided." It is vulgarly 
called the " Temple of the Winds." The names and 
figures of the eight winds are sculptured on the frieze 
of the entablature. Its height is given at forty-four 
feet. It dates at least as far back as one hundred 
years before Christ. 

In the Museum of Athens we observed about thirty 
busts of eminent professors of Athens, but without 
names. Nor could we tell to what age they belonged. 
They are probably as old as the Christian era at least. 

Athens is situated about five miles from the Piraeus, 
in the vale of Attica. This vale runs from the Piraeus, 
in a northeast direction, for twenty miles or more; its 
average breadth is about ten miles. On the east, the 
vale is bounded by the mountain range of Hymettus 
and Pentelicus ; on the northwest, by Mount Parnes, 
and on the west, by a range of hills extending from 
Parnes to the Gulf of Eleusis or Levsina. This vale is 
bounded on the northeast by hills. Hymettus reaches 
a height of about thirty-two hundred feet ; Pentelicus, 
about thirty-six hundred, and Parnes, about forty-five 
hundred feet. The vale is watered in its whole length 
by the Cephissus and its tributaries. The Ilissus, on 
the southeast of Athens, is hardly worth mentioning. 

The soil is not fertile ; in ancient times the chief 
articles of export were olives and figs ; large quantities 
of grain were imported for home consumption. Olives 
are one of the chief products at present, but figs, I 
should judge, are scarce. 

Athens is said to have been founded by Cecrops in 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



285 



the mythological age of Greece. The most celebrated 
hero in the early history of Attica is Theseus, who 
made Athens the capital of Attica, and enlarged the 
city by building south of the Acropolis. It is called 
by Homer " a well-built city."* 

In the historical age, the city was embellished by 
Pisistratus and his sons, but was reduced almost to a 
heap of ashes by Xerxes, B.C. 480. After this calam- 
itous event, the city increased rapidly in wealth and 
power under the administration of Themistocles, Ci- 
mon, and Pericles. The walls of Athens, built by 
Themistocles, embraced a circuit of more than seven 
miles. The age of Pericles (b.c. 444-429) was the most 
glorious in the history of Athens. The confederacy 
of which Athens was the head extended far and wide, 
embracing many of the islands of the Aigean Sea, and 
her naval power was enormous. In this age too, the 
splendid edifices of Athens, including the Parthenon, 
were erected. 

The Peloponnesian war (431-404 B.C.) ended in 
the overthrow and capture of Athens by Sparta and 
her allies. After the battle of Chaeronea (338 B.C.), in 
which the Athenians and their allies were defeated 
by Philip of Macedon, Athens became a dependency 
of the Macedonian monarchy, retaining, however, its 
nominal independence till it fell into the hands of the 
Romans. The Roman general, Sulla, captured the 
city — which had espoused the cause of Mithridates — 
after a siege of several months ; he destroyed the long 
walls leading down to the Piraeus, and the fortifica- 
tions of the city. Nevertheless, Athens flourished all 



* Iliad, Book ii. 446. 



286 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



through the Roman period, and the emperors took a 
laudable pride in adorning a city that had been so dis- 
tinguished in the arts of peace and war, and that could 
still boast of being the first city in the world in in- 
tellectual culture. It was in this city that the learned 
Quadratus presented to the Emperor Hadrian, on his 
visit in a.d. i 26, his "Apology for Christianity." Pagan- 
ism long continued to flourish in the schools of Athens, 
and even when the mass of the people of the em- 
pire had embraced Christianity the gods of Greece 
still found eloquent advocates at Athens. Paganism 
perished there after its schools of philosophy were 
closed by Justinian in the sixth century. 

After the capture of Constantinople by the Latins, 
in 1204, Athens passed into the hands of the Franks, 
with whom it remained till it was incorporated into the 
Turkish Empire in 1456, three years after the capture 
of Constantinople. The battle of Navarino, in 1829, 
delivered Greece from the Turks, and established its 
independence. In 1834 Athens was declared the 
capital of the kingdom of Greece. 

The population of Athens in the age of Pericles 
may be estimated at from one hundred and fifty to one 
hundred and seventy thousand, of whom slaves com- 
posed the largest part. 

The climate of Athens is mild and delightful in 
winter, but quite hot, I .should judge, in summer. 

The present kingdom of Greece has a population of 
about thirteen hundred thousand. The Ionian Islands, 
having passed from under the British protectorate, at 
present constitute a part of this kingdom. George 
I., a Dane I believe, is the present king of Greece. 
They have a House of Representatives, consisting ot 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



287 



one hundred and sixty-five members, chosen by uni- 
versal suffrage. They have no Senate. 

Athens is now very prosperous, and contains a fine 
university and a cathedral. But it is not likely that 
the city will ever become very large, or the kingdom 
of Greece very prosperous. Traveling twenty miles 
north of Athens is dangerous on account of the brigands. 
The present inhabitants of Athens are Albanians, and 
I failed to recognize in their physiognomy the elegant 
features of the ancient Athenians. 

While in Athens, I paid a visit to the Rev. Dr. Hill, 
so well known to travelers who visit Athens, and who 
is distinguished for his hospitality to his countrymen. 
Dr. Hill left the United States about forty years ago. 
I also called on the Rev. Mr. Constantine, a native 
Greek, but educated at Amherst College, Massachu- 
setts. He is a missionary in Athens, but confines his 
labors to a sphere within the Greek Church. The 
Greeks are strongly attached to their church, and can- 
not endure sects. I handed him a letter of introduc- 
tion from our acting consul in Jerusalem; he showed 
me every attention. Our consul in Athens, Dr. Keep, 
formerly tutor in Yale College, I found intelligent, kind, 
and gentlemanly. He contributed largely to the enjoy- 
ment of my visit to Athens. 

Before leaving Athens, I found one morning, in a 
store, a printed funeral notice. Over the notice was 
the representation of a tomb, surrounded by cypresses. 
Its language differed but little from ancient Greek; the 
following is a translation : 

" Yesterday afternoon, after a few days' sickness, the 
cruel sickle of death carried away from my arms my 



288 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



most dearly beloved child Pericles, in the fifth year 
of his age, bringing upon us inconsolable grief. Ac- 
cordingly its relatives and friends are requested to 
attend the burial of the body, that will take place to-day, 
about ten o'clock a.m., in the temple of the Metropolis. 

"In Athens, February 6 (18), 1 870. The afflicted 
parents, " Dionisius P. Zachariou, 

" Fanny Zacharia." 

On Saturday afternoon, February 19, I left Athens, 
and took, in company with Dr. Keep, the cars for the 
Piraeus. As we passed along, we observed the remains 
of the long wall that extended from Athens to the 
Piraeus. The railroad from Athens to the Piraeus is 
the only one in Greece. On reaching the Piraeus, or 
Piraos, as the small town at the head of the harbor is 
called, we strolled along the southwest side of the har- 
bor to its entrance into the Saronic Gulf. Here we 
saw the remains of the ancient wall that inclosed the 
Piraeus. This wall, as its remains clearly show, was 
in fact a double wall of well-dressed stone; the space 
between these two walls was filled up with rough 
stones it would seem. 

I had purchased a ticket at Athens for Corfu. The 
Greek steamer was to start on Sunday morning, and I 
obtained permission from the office in the Piraeus to 
go aboard on Saturday night. Here I remained till 
next morning, when our steamer left. We passed along 
the Saronic Gulf, close to Salamis, and had JEg'ma. 
south of us, and on the right, on the coast, we saw the 
white-looking town of Megara. In a few hours we 
disembarked from our steamer at a place on the Isth- 
mus of Corinth called Port Kalamaki, containing but 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



289 



a few houses. About three miles south of us, we saw 
on the coast the site of Cenchrea and apparent ruins. 
This place is mentioned twice in the New Testament* 
It was the eastern port of Corinth. At Port Kalamaki 
we took omnibus across the Isthmus of Corinth, a dis- 
tance of about five miles, to a point on the Corinthian 
Gulf, which I was told was New Corinth, a small town. 
We crossed the remains of the ancient wall, in the form 
of rubbish, that had been built across the isthmus. 
The shortest distance across the isthmus is not more 
than four miles. The ground is generally level, and 
seemed to continue so down to a lofty hill, southward, 
the Acropolis of ancient Corinth. We observed that 
a portion of the ground was cultivated. Northward, 
in the distance, we observed that the land was moun- 
tainous. The elevation of the isthmus, where we 
crossed it, is about thirty feet above the level of the 
sea. At Athens, we learned that a contract had been 
let to cut a ship canal across the isthmus. About 
noon we took steamer at New Corinth, on our way to 
Corfu. The day became cloudy and rainy ; we observed 
as we passed along Mount Helicon on our right; 
Parnassus we could not see on account of the heavy 
weather. At night we saw a light at Naupactus on 
our right. Next day, Monday, it was again cloudy, but 
we saw the elevated land of the Morea, and in the 
north Missolonghi. We regretted that we could not 
see Ithaca (Thaki), the home of the renowned Ulysses. 
Our steamer touched at Zante, the ancient Zacynthus. 
We anchored in the harbor of the town of the same 
name with the island. After staying an hour or two, 



* Acts xviii. 18; Rom. xvi. 1. 
25 



290 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



our steamer next put into the harbor of a small town, 
Argostoli, standing on a bay running far into the island 
of Cephalonia. After a short stoppage here, we con- 
tinued our course to Corfu, on the island of the same 
name, which we reached between five and six o'clock on 
the morning of Tuesday. We went ashore and walked 
through the town, and ascended the lofty citadel, an old 
Venetian fort, giving a fine view of the town and the ad- 
jacent region and a portion of the mainland, Albania. 
Corfu is not a large town, but it is a place of consider- 
able trade. The houses are white, with green Venetian 
shutters. We observed in the town the arms of the 
Venetian republic, a lion ; and in the public square, a 
statue with the inscription, "To Matthew, Count of 
Shulemburg, by the Senate of the Christian Republic, 
when it suffered in the siege of Corfu, 17 16." This 
monument commemorates the successful defense made 
by the count against the assaults of the Ottomans, who 
besieged the town with thirty thousand troops when 
it belonged to Venice. The length of the island is 
about thirty-eight miles, and its breadth varies from 
three or four to twenty miles. It yields oil in great 
abundance, and also wine. 

The island, the ancient Corcyra, was colonized by the 
Corinthians about 734 years B.C., and was greatly cele- 
brated in Grecian history. In the Roman period it was 
an important station for their fleet, and a resting-place 
for those who went to and returned from Greece by way 
of Brundusium. It belonged to the Eastern Empire till 
the eleventh century. After various changes it called in 
the Venetians in 1386, and remained subject to Venice 
until the overthrow of that republic by Napoleon. 
The island then passed into the hands of the French, 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



291 



from whom it was wrested by the Russians and Turks 
in 1799. Russia afterwards ceded the seven Ionian 
islands to the French; the English took all of them 
but Corfu, which was ceded to them in 18 14 by the 
French. The seven islands were then restored to their 
independence, and formed into a state under the pro- 
tection of the king of Great Britain. After this the 
islands were governed by a constitution proclaimed in 
18 18 under the sanction of Great Britain. Under the 
British protectorate, the town Corfu was the capital 
of the seven Ionian islands. A few years ago these 
islands were ceded to the kingdom of Greece. Corfu 
stands on the east side of the island, and has a fine 
harbor. The language of the town is modern Greek. 
The day we spent in Corfu was cloudy and disagreeable. 

Next morning (Wednesday, February 23) w r e left in 
a steamer for Brindisi. The day was clear and windy. 
We passed along for hours close to the celebrated 
Acroceraunia Mountains, whose summits were covered 
with snow. These mountains are not very high. We 
observed some villages — one at least — near the base. 

We reached Brindisi next morning about three 
o'clock, and went to the hotel near the wharf. When 
it became day we strolled over this insignificant town, 
— the ancient Brundusium, — the port from which the 
ancient Romans embarked for Greece. Two large 
columns mark the end of the Appian Way from Rome 
to this place. The harbor is an excellent one. Lines 
of steamers run between this port and Alexandria, in 
Egypt, making the voyage in seventy-two hours. 
Railroads connect it with Naples (by Foggia) and 
with Northern Italy; and yet there are but few indi- 
cations of life in the town. 



292 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



About ten o'clock in the morning the United States 
consul, Colonel Weaver, and his wife, came down to the 
hotel to get their breakfast. I was delighted to see 
the colonel. We had been professors the preceding 
year in the West Virginia University, and upon terms 
of the greatest intimacy. His wife is a daughter of 
Bishop Simpson. I had the pleasure of dining with 
the colonel. At present he is consul at Antwerp. 
The day I spent at Brindisi was cold and raw. 

In the evening I left in the train for Bologna. I 
took a second-class ticket, paying for it about twelve 
dollars, and about three dollars and a half for my 
trunk. In Italy you pay extra for every pound of 
baggage outside of your carpet-bag, which you take 
in the car with you. The car had two seats, — cush- 
ioned, but not elegant, — the passengers sitting with 
face towards each other. On the following morning I 
found myself still near the Adriatic, and in sight of 
this sea the road ran the most of the way to Bologna. 
We passed through Ancona, and about eleven a.m. we 
crossed a small, dirty stream that was pointed out to 
us as the Rubicon, celebrated in the history of Julius 
Caesar, and reached Bologna about half past two 
o'clock p.m. Here we remained an hour and a half, 
and I availed myself of the opportunity to visit the 
famous university. On approaching Bologna we ob- 
served that the country was beautifully cultivated like 
a garden, wine and wheat being the principal products. 
From Bologna I took cars for Venice, — a distance of 
about a hundred miles. The fare, third class, was 
about two dollars; baggage extra. All through Italy 
the rule is to weigh your baggage, pay for it by the 
pound, and take a receipt for it, which you present 



AND THE HOD Y LAND. 



293 



when you reach the station at which you stop. 
Crossing the large and beautiful river Po, and passing 
through Padua, we reached Venice (Italian, Venezia) 
about ten p.m. We were transferred from the cars to 
a gondola, to go to the boarding-house where I was to 
stop. On reaching it I found it full; my boatmen 
then took me to the Victoria Hotel; I got out of the 
boat, ascended a few steps, and was in the hotel. It 
seemed strange to get out of the cars and take a boat, 
and to be rowed about among the houses of a foreign 
city at the dead of night. Nothing more beautifully 
illustrates the remark that Herodotus puts into the 
mouth of Solon, in his interview with Croesus, — that 
in human life no tzvo days are alike. This is emphati- 
cally true of traveling. It is a grand, perpetually- 
shifting panorama. But I have lost sight of my boat- 
men. When I got aboard of the gondola I saw but a 
single boatman, but before I reached the hotel a 
second one made his appearance. W T here he could 
have been concealed I know not. The motive for the 
concealment was obvious. The charge for a gondola 
with one boatman was two francs, but with two boat- 
men three francs. Of course I had to pay the three 
francs. 

The hotel was not far from the Great Square and 
metropolitan church of St. Mark. Early on Saturday 
morning I started for this celebrated" church. After a 
few minutes' walk, I turned to the left and passed 
through an arch under a building into the Great 
Square, when suddenly the great church, with the 
Palace of the Doge, and the lofty tower of St. Mark, 
burst suddenly upon the view. The sight was grand 
and enrapturing, increased by the clear, charming 

25* 



2 9 4 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



morning. The Great Square, at the east end of which 
St. Mark's Church stands, is about six hundred feet 
long and two hundred wide, paved with large stone, 
surrounded with fine buildings. In this square, near 
the church, is the Tower of St. Mark's, forty-two feet 
square at base and more than two hundred feet high. 
It is ascended inside by an inclined plane close to the 
walls, — that is, you go from one side to another on an 
inclined plane; then, at the end of this plane you 
ascend another at right angles to this, and a third at 
right angles to the second, and so on. From this 
tower, at a height of about one hundred and fifty feet 
or more, I had a fine view of the city rising from the 
Adriatic Sea; far in the north and northeast appeared 
the Alps clad in eternal snows. The city is very com- 
pact; the streets narrow and crooked, but not very 
dirty. The numerous chimneys were conspicuous. 
The city is built on piles on seventy-two small islands 
in a lagoon, or lake. A canal, about three hundred 
feet wide, in the form of an S, runs through the city. 
From this small canals extend through the city. On 
these canals gondolas ply. These gondolas are narrow 
boats with a covered apartment in the middle, capable 
of seating four or five persons. Steps descend from 
the doors of the houses to these canals, or streets of 
water. But it must not be supposed that traveling by 
water is the usual way, and that solid streets are rare; 
on the contrary, solid paved streets are the rule and 
the canals the exception. 

The most splendid edifice in Venice is the Church 
of St. Mark, as already stated. It was founded in the 
year 828 by the Doge Giustiniano Participazio, to re- 
ceive the relics of St. Mark, which had just then been 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



295 



transferred from Alexandria. The church is in the 
form of a cross, and has four domes, or cupolas, sur- 
mounted with crosses, combining the Gothic with the 
Oriental style of architecture. We found the front to 
be about one hundred and ninety-five feet wide. High 
up over the front door are four large figures of bronze 
horses. The Latin inscription beneath states that they 
were captured from Byzantium (Constantinople) in 
1204; that the rapacity of the enemy (the French under 
Napoleon) carried them off in 1797, and that they 
were restored at the general peace in 18 15. I was 
greatly amused at this inscription. The Venetians 
had stolen the horses from Constantinople, and the 
French, in turn, had stolen them from the Venetians. 
Here was stealing all around, but it was only recog- 
nized as such when the horses were stolen from the 
Venetians themselves. These bronze horses are a 
memorial of the fourth crusade in 1204. This church 
contains a great deal of work in mosaic. The Palace 
of the Doge joins on to the south side of the church. 
It is a grand four-story edifice, built around an open 
court that is about sixty-one yards long by forty-three 
wide. The first palace was built here in 820. The 
present palace is more than five hundred years old. 
The Royal Library, in the Palace of the Doge, is very 
grand. The room is about one hundred and ninety- 
two feet by eighty-seven, with magnificent paintings 
upon the walls and the ceiling, including pictures of 
the Doges (or rather Dogi). This is the principal 
library-room; a smaller one adjoins this. They told 
me that the library contains two hundred thousand 
volumes. Among them we observed " Monuments of 
the History of Germany," twenty volumes folio; 



296 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



" Oriental Christianity" in Latin, by Le Quien, Paris, 
1750, in three large volumes folio. With the excep- 
tion of this work, I know of no good history of East- 
ern Christianity. Stanley's "Eastern Church" covers 
but a small part of the ground, and disappoints the 
reader. If some competent hand would take this 
work and make it the basis of a thorough history, not 
too voluminous, he would render an important service 
to the Christian world. I also visited the chamber 
where" the Senate of Venice used to hold its sessions. 
It is finely decorated. 

On Sunday I visited the most important churches 
in the city; some of them highly distinguished for 
their magnificent statuary. In one of them I found a 
fine, attentive congregation, and the priest preaching 
with a zeal and earnestness that would have done 
credit to a Methodist preacher. In the afternoon and 
evening I visited the Great Square, in front of St. 
Mark's Church. Here the Italians, many of them 
well dressed and elegant looking, were spending the 
afternoon in promenading with their wives, or with 
them partaking of the refreshments of the restaurants. 
It was the carnival season. In the Great Square in 
front of St. Mark's, platforms and tents in the Oriental 
style were erected, and on Sunday night dancing, 
music, and masquerades of a ridiculous character en- 
gaged these elegant and accomplished Italians. It 
seemed strange to me that such cultivated people 
could engage in such fooleries, and on Sunday even- 
ing too ! With unpleasant reflections I left for my 
room. On Monday I hired a gondolier to take me in 
his gondola through the whole length of the great 
canal, in the form of an S. We started near St. Mark's 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



297 



Church and went to the other end, not far from the 
railroad station. I also made a visit to the Rialto, the 
famous bridge that crosses the great canal. It is a 
fine structure of a single arch, built nearly three hun- 
dred years ago. 

The streets of Venice are too narrow and crooked 
for carriages, and the traveler must either walk, or take 
the gondola and go by water. Nor do you ever see 
any one on horseback. The population of Venice is 
about one hundred and thirty thousand ; of course it 
is not what it once was, yet it has a considerable de- 
gree of life. It is about two and a half miles from the 
mainland. The number of its canals has been given 
at one hundred and forty-nine, while its streets, lanes, 
and alleys number about two thousand. 

Venice was founded as early as a.d. 407-413 by 
those who fled from Alaric when he laid waste Vene- 
tia. In 421 the first church was built, dedicated to St. 
James. In 451-452, a second emigration took place 
to the lagoons where the city now stands. Venice at 
first was governed by a small number of tribunes, 
elected annually by the people. The public measures 
were submitted by these tribunes to the assembled 
people, who voted upon them by acclamation. This 
government lasted till a.d. 697, two centuries and a 
half, during which they seem to have been, nominally 
at least, subject to the Emperor of Constantinople. 
This government not working well, the principal 
citizens and the clergy appointed by acclamation, a.d. 
697, a chief magistrate, Doge, or Dux, for life, Paul 
Anafesto. His duties were prescribed in the following 
words : " Let the Doge alone preside over the govern- 
ment of the people with justice and moderation; let 



298 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



him appoint the tribunes and the judges, who shall 
administer justice both to clergy and laity, and if any 
one think himself aggrieved, let him appeal to the 
Doge." He took an oath to obey the laws ; he was 
commander of the forces of the republic, and ap- 
pointed the subordinate officers of the army. He also 
convoked the assemblies of the people, and the meet- 
ings of the parishes for the election of pastors. The 
clergy were subject to the state. This government of 
Dogi lasted with very little interruption till the re- 
public was overthrown by Napoleon in 1797, a period 
of eleven hundred years. Napoleon the same year 
made a treaty with Austria, in which he surrendered 
Venice to that power. Manin, the last Doge, then 
took the oath of allegiance to Austria, and it is said 
while in the act he fell down in a fit; he died shortly 
afterwards. Venice remained in subjection to Austria 
until a few years ago, when, at the close of the war 
between Prussia and Italy against Austria, it was 
united to the kingdom of Italy. I observed in Venice 
a column erected by the butchers in commemoration 
of the unification of Italy. 

The most flourishing period of the Venetian republic 
was, perhaps, during the administration of the Doge 
Tommaso Mocenigo, 141 3-1423. "The republic pos- 
sessed Candia, Eubcea, the Morea, several of the 
Ionian islands, numerous islands in the Archipelago, 
Dalmatia, and part of Albania, Istria, and the newly- 
acquired terra firma. It had factories all over the 
Levant, in Egypt, at Constantinople, and carried on 
the greatest part of the traffic between Europe and 
Asia." The before-mentioned Doge at his death-bed 
called the principal senators to him and said: "I leave 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



299 



the country in peace and prosperity ; our merchants 
have a capital of ten millions of golden ducats [more 
than twenty-two millions of dollars] in circulation, 
upon which they make an annual profit of four mil- 
lions. We have forty-five galleys and three hun- 
dred other ships of war; three thousand merchant 
vessels, fifty-two thousand sailors, a thousand nobles, 
with incomes varying from seven hundred to four 
thousand ducats each ; eight naval officers fit to com- 
mand a large fleet, one hundred others fit to command 
smaller squadrons ; many statesmen, jurisconsults, 
and other wise men." 

We saw hardly a single beggar in Venice. Near 
the suburbs of the town one day some children 
stretched out their hands for money. 



300 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



CHAPTER XI. 

From Venice to Milan. — The Cathedral of Milan. — The Church of 
St. Ambrose. — The Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci. — Crossing 
theAlps. — Arrival in Geneva. — Lausanne. — Berne. — Basel. — Frank- 
fort. — Dr.Hurst. — Visit toEisenach. — Weimar. — Leipzig. — Halle. — 
A Description of Tholuck. — Berlin — The Grave of Neander. — Pots- 
dam. — Dresden. — Intelligence of the Death of Dr. McClintock. — 
Heidelberg. — Voyage on the Rhine from Mayence to Cologne. — 
A Visit to Brussels and Antwerp. — Arrival in England. — A Visit to 
Scotland. — From Liverpool to New York. 

We left Venice by rail on Tuesday morning, March 
I. The journey was most interesting. The country 
is fertile and cultivated like a garden ; the vine is the 
principal growth, but grain is also cultivated in large 
quantities. The country is level, but mountains were 
visible on the right, and hills occasionally on the left. 
We passed through Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Brescia, 
Bergamo, etc., beautiful towns, — many of the houses 
were large and white with green shutters. For a con- 
siderable distance we ran alongside of Lake Garda, a 
beautiful sheet of water extending up into the moun- 
tains, with villages on its banks. We reached Milan 
about four p.m., having been ten hours on the way, the 
distance being about one hundred and seventy miles. 
On reaching Milan I went to the Hotel Cavour, named 
after the distinguished Italian statesman. In the square, 
in front of the hotel, stands a statue of this eminent 
personage, a portly and rather chunky-looking man. 
A human figure, intended to represent a female I 



AND THE HOL V LAND. 



301 



believe, bent forward, with stylus in hand, has just 
finished writing the name cavour. From the hotel I 
soon started for the great cathedral, 77 Duomo. After 
a walk of about ten minutes, I passed through an 
arcade into a small square, when the great cathedral 
suddenly burst upon the view close on my left. Its 
magnificence made the deepest impression upon me, 
and, I may say, filled me with awe. No other build- 
ing, not even St. Peter's, nor the pyramid of Cheops, 
made such an impression upon me. Above the great 
entrance in front is an inscription in gilt bronze letters, 
marine nascente. {To Mary nascent)) The whole 
building is composed of fine white marble : " the shape 
of the church is like a Latin cross, and comprises five 
naves, corresponding to the five entrance doors. The 
length of the main nave, from the entrance door to the 
end of the choir, is about one hundred and forty-eight 
metres (about four hundred and eighty-five feet); the 
total breadth of the cross, reckoning the two side- 
chapels, is about eighty-seven and three-quarter me- 
tres (about two hundred and eighty-seven feet). The 
whole height from the pavement to the vault of the 
cupola is sixty-four metres (about two hundred and 
ten feet), and to the top of the exterior statue of the 
Virgin, one hundred and six and a half metres (about 
three hundred and forty-nine feet). 

The architecture is Gothic with the exception of the 
front, which is Greek. Standing in the great door and 
looking down to the altar, you have on each side two 
rows of great columns and a row of half columns in the 
wall, extending to the altar and choir. I measured the 
diameter of one of these columns with a tape-line, and 
found it eight feet and about two inches. The four 

26 



302 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



columns supporting the cupola are said to be one-fifth 
greater in diameter than the others. The one I mea- 
sured was of the ordinary size. The height of these 
columns is about seventy-eight feet. They are fluted^ 
nearly octagonal in their form, and are of marble.. I 
found the distance, by stepping it off, from the door to 
the choir and altar, to be about three hundred and sixty 
feet, and the breadth of the front to be about two hun- 
dred feet. 

The numerous spires of this great cathedral, and its 
statues, surpass all description. More than seven thou- 
sand statues decorate the exterior and the interior of this 
wonderful building. A staircase of one hundred and 
fifty-eight steps leads to the roof of the edifice. An ascent 
)f five hundred and twelve steps brings us to the plat- 
orm of the great cupola, on whose top stands the gilt 
opper statue of the Virgin Mary, to whom the church 
s dedicated. This great pyramid is surrounded by 
>ne hundred and thirty-six smaller ones, each of which 
3 adorned with twenty-five statues. From the plat- 
orm of the great cupola we looked down upon a forest 
of pyramids and statues around us, one of the grandest 
sights in the world, and of its kind unique. The view 
of Milan and the adjacent country, from this point, is 
magnificent; but there was too much smoke and haze 
around when I was on the steeple, both in the after- 
noon and in the morning of the next day, to allow a 
distinct view of the grand prospect. 

The cathedral was founded in 1386 by Giovanni 
Galeazzo Visconti, a duke of Milan. A decree of the 
Emperor Napoleon, June 8, 1805, ordered the com- 
pletion of the whole temple, which we should regard 
as complete if money were not still collected for this 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



303 



purpose. A few coppers must be paid for the 
privilege of ascending the roof to the steeple, which 
goes to pay for the completion of the temple. The 
whole expenditure on the building to the present time 
is stated at five hundred and fifty millions of francs, 
more than one hundred millions of dollars. 

On Wednesday morning I visited the Church of St. 
Ambrose. It is built of brick, has two square towers 
at one end, and is certainly very old, probably the very 
church and pulpit in which St. Ambrose preached. 
In the basement I saw an inscription stating that he 
was buried there in 397. St. Ambrose was bishop 
of Milan from 374 till 397, and was one of the most 
illustrious men of his age. The Church of St. Lorenzo, 
built of brick, in the form of an octagon, and certainly 
very old, I also visited. In the front of it, out in the 
street, stands a row of old Corinthian columns, said to 
belong to the fourth century. 

In the refectory of the Church of Santa Maria delle 
Grazie I saw the celebrated painting of the " Last 
Supper," by Leonardo da Vinci. It is about thirty- 
five feet long; the figures are life-size, but considerably 
injured. The painting is in oil, executed about the 
year 1495. It derives importance not only on account 
of its own intrinsic merit, but also from the celebrity 
of the artist, who was one of the greatest men of his 
age. In the middle of the picture sits our Saviour, full 
of majesty and grace. His hands are spread out on 
the table as if in the act of pronouncing a blessing. 
He has just said that one of his disciples should betray 
him. On the right in the picture (but on the left of 
Christ), next to him, is (1) James the Elder, shudder- 
ing ; (2) Thomas swears revenge; (3) Philip manifests 



3°4 



A 'JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



love; (4) Matthew repeats with pain the words of the 
Redeemer; (5) Thaddeus is seized with suspicion ; (6) 
Simon doubts. On the left (but on the right of the 
Saviour) is (1) Bartholomew, who doubts what he has 
heard, and wishes an explanation from Christ himself; 
(2) James the Just quietly turns to his neighbor for 
information ; (3) Andrew is seized with wonder and as- 
tonishment; (4) Peter inquires with threatening wrath ; 
(5) Judas is astonished to find himself discovered, and 
shrinks back into his badly-concealed infamy; (6) John 
turns to Peter, who had made inquiry of him. 

Milan is situated in a large plain, and is a flourish- 
ing city of more than two hundred thousand inhabi- 
tants. It was founded by the Insubrian Gauls several 
centuries before Christ. It was known in ancient times 
by the name of Mediolanum, and was for a long time 
the capital of Cisalpine Gaul. The Emperor Max- 
imian fixed his residence here, a.d. 303, and adorned 
the city with many beautiful buildings, and made it 
one of the finest cities in Europe. Here Constantine 
published his famous edict of toleration in behalf of 
the Christians. The city suffered greatly when the 
imperial residence was removed to Ravenna. In 452, 
Milan was captured and plundered byAttila; and after 
the fall of the Western Empire in 476, it became the 
residence of the Gothic kings, Odoacer and Theo- 
doric. Since that period, it has been subject to diverse 
fortunes, and held in turn by the world's great con- 
querors. We find Charles V. becoming master of it 
in 1525, and Napoleon crowned there with the iron 
crown in 1805. In 18 14 it was restored to Austria, with 
whom it remained till wrested from that power by the 
united forces of France and Piedmont, about twelve 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



305 



years ago ; and it now constitutes a part of the king- 
dom of Italy. 

I left Milan on Wednesday afternoon for Turin. I 
observed in the depot that the prohibition to smoke was 
put up in three languages, English, French, and Italian. 
We passed in the cars over the battle-field of Magenta, 
and saw, close to the railroad, a monument erected in 
commemoration of it. Not far from this monument, 
on the other side of the railroad, the place was pointed 
out where nine hundred of the slain, of several nation- 
alities, were buried. 

We reached Turin late at night, and left early next 
morning, so that I had no opportunity of obtaining a 
good view of this beautiful city. In about two hours 
I reached, by rail, Susa, a small town, or rather village, 
at the foot of the Alps, on the Italian side. Here I 
regretted to learn that a fall of snow had rendered the 
railroad over the Alps impassable for that day, so that 
I was compelled to stay for about twenty-four hours 
in this insignificant place. I greatly regretted this, for I 
would have spent the day in Turin if I had been aware 
that the railroad was blocked up. 

Susa is the ancient Segusio, situated at the foot of 
the Cottian Alps, in the valley of the Duria. The rail- 
road from Susa over the Alps, by way of Mont Cenis, 
is of peculiar construction. First, we have two parallel 
iron rails, like the railroads in our own country; then 
an iron rail in the middle of the track, elevated about 
a foot above the plane of the other two rails. On the 
two parallel rails the car-wheels, as those of other cars, 
run; but on each side of the elevated middle rail runs 
a horizontal wheel with perpendicular axis, so that it is 
impossible for the car to run off. The grade is very 

26* 



306 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



heavy, and the curves frequently short. The cars, three 
in number, — two passenger, the other baggage, — 
were drawn by a locomotive, and at times with great 
difficulty. The snow in some places seemed to be six 
or eight feet deep, and we passed under snow-sheds. 
Some houses are built on the road-side on the summit. 
The highest point we crossed is about six thousand 
feet above the sea. The scenery was of the wildest 
and grandest kind. We had left Susa at eight o'clock 
a.m., and we reached San Michel, on the French side 
of the Alps, at half-past two p.m. My carpet-bag was 
examined by a custom-house officer, and my passport 
was demanded ; but when I told him that I did not 
know that they required passports (which had not been 
required in any other part of France), he asked me what 
countryman I was, and when I replied that I was a 
citizen of the United States he told me — without look- 
ing at my passport — to pass on. 

The valley of the Savoy, through which we passed 
from San Michel to Geneva, is beautiful, well cultivated, 
and thickly inhabited, and was already quite free from 
snow. We reached Geneva after eleven p.m. 

On the following day, Saturday, March 5,1 strolled 
through the city to examine the objects of interest; 
the day was unpleasant, being more or less rainy. I 
visited the Academy of Natural History, where my 
attention was specially attracted by the skeleton of a 
man and that of a gorilla, close to each other. The 
difference between the human head and that of the 
gorilla is in many respects striking. The vertebra of 
the neck of the gorilla is inserted near the end of the 
horizontal-shaped head ; while in man the head is ver- 
tical and is inserted further forward. The gorilla has 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



307 



great canine teeth that overpass each other. It is 
altogether proper that these skeletons should stand in 
juxtaposition, to remind Carl Vogt and his followers 
that the gorilla and his brethren have a vast chasm to 
leap before they become men. 

I also visited the beautiful new Catholic church, 
Notre Dame, and the Russian chapel ; the latter is a 
square building with crescents surmounted by crosses, 
an arrangement that is very significant. 

Sunday morning I attended service in the great 
cathedral, which was densely crowded. The sermon 
was delivered extempore. It was eloquent and impres- 
sive, and about an hour in length. The preacher, Rev. 
M. Coulin, is very popular, and what is more, evan- 
gelical. The churches in this part of Switzerland are 
sound in the faith. The cathedral is of the Gothic 
style, resembling the great cathedral of Milan. 

In the afternoon I visited the cemetery to see the 
tomb of the celebrated John Calvin. The keeper of 
the cemetery conducted me to the spot where he was 
buried. A plain stone, about a foot high, containing 
the simple inscription "J. C." on the top, marks the 
place. I asked him why there was no monument 
erected to him. The reply was that he wished none. 

Geneva is beautifully situated at the southwest end 
of Geneva Lake, on both sides of the Rhone, but the 
principal portion is on the southeast side. The ap- 
pearance of the city is very fine. Several statues 
stand where the Rhone leaves the lake; one of these 
is that of J. J. Rousseau. 

The French language is generally used in Geneva. 
Almost every place of business has a French name. 
The town is very ancient, being mentioned by Julius 



3 o8 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



Caesar. Its population at present is about fifty-six 
thousand. 

Next morning I left Geneva by rail for Lausanne. 
The day was cloudy and rather disagreeable. Lausanne 
is built on steep hills. I paid a visit to the old cathe- 
dral, founded in the year iooo and dedicated by Pope 
Gregory X. in 1275. In the rear of the Hotel Gibbon 
I saw the one-story house in which Gibbon wrote the 
"Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." It commands 
a fine view of the lake. French is generally spoken 
in Lausanne. The population is about twenty thou- 
sand. The country between Geneva and Lausanne is 
beautifully cultivated. The principal product is the 
vine. 

From Lausanne I went by rail to Berne, the capital 
of Switzerland, which I reached between eight and 
nine o'clock in the evening. On the way I observed 
some large barns, not as large, however, as those in 
Pennsylvania. 

Next day I walked over the town. It is built on a 
high hill washed on three sides by the river Aar. I 
went into the old cathedral. Its seats are plain; its 
style is Gothic. I looked at the hymn-book and 
church service, and found them quite evangelical. I 
observed in the cathedral figures of the prophets and 
apostles perhaps, carved in wood. I also visited the 
canton school and university building. In the list of 
the studies I observed "Religion" named. Near the 
bridge over the Aar is a bear-pit, from which the 
Canton Berne (Baren, bears) takes its name. I saw 
three bears in the pit; one was up a tree planted in 
the pit. I was greatly interested in watching him 
ascend and descend the tree. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



309 



The Swiss people look hardy and ruddy, but I think 
the women use a great deal of paint. German is the 
language generally spoken in Berne. Nearly all the 
places of business have German names, even if French 
is added. The canton is Protestant ; that of Freiburg 
is Roman Catholic. The Swiss are enterprising, in- 
dustrious, and intelligent. I saw no beggars in Swit- 
zerland. The day we spent in Berne was cold and 
disagreeable, but the country around was beautiful. I 
observed in Switzerland a considerable number of 
trees, which was hardly to be expected. 

I left Berne on Tuesday afternoon and reached 
Basel between eight and nine p.m. From the depot I 
took carriage to the Black Bear Hotel, on the other 
side of the Rhine. On alighting from the carriage I 
addressed the gentleman standing in the door, " Der 
Schwarze Baer?" (Black Bear.) He answered, " Ya 
wold" (Certainly). Next day I found the people 
busily engaged in celebrating the festival of Shrove 
Tuesday, or Fastnacht, as they call it. Some of them, 
dressed in fantastics, were parading the streets, whilst 
others, drawn in wagons or carriages, were throwing 
pieces of paper and printed poetry upon the crowds. 
They carried in the procession various devices indi- 
cating fun. It seemed to be a general holiday; even 
the library of the university was closed. 

I ascended the tower of the cathedral and had a fine 
view of the country around. On the front of the 
building is a statue of St. George killing the dragon. 
On the colored glass of the cathedral is a likeness of 
CEcolampadius, and not far from the cathedral stands 
a statue of him, in which he holds a Bible in his left 
hand and wears a cap. He was one of the great men 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



of the Reformation. I visited the Museum of Art 
and Science without seeing much that was attractive. 
A tortoise, four or five feet in diameter, was the most 
interesting. The Elizabeth Church is a splendid 
Gothic building that cost about a million dollars. 
Basel (as it is called by its inhabitants) is built on both 
sides of the Rhine, where it turns towards the north. 
The river here is about two hundred yards wide, and 
is spanned by a bridge. The population of the town 
is about forty thousand. Its university is highly 
celebrated. The building, by no means attractive, 
stands on the west bank of the Rhine. German is the 
language generally spoken in Basel. 

Before leaving Basel on Wednesday afternoon for 
Freiberg, Baden, my baggage was examined. I 
reached the town early in the night. I paid a visit 
that evening and next day to Mrs. Morrison, mother 
of Robert D. Morrison, Esq., late City Solicitor of 
Baltimore, an esteemed friend. She received me very 
kindly and hospitably entertained me. She and her 
daughter were both dwelling in Freiberg, but have 
since left. 

Freiberg is beautifully situated at the beginning of 
the Black Forest. Its cathedral is a magnificent 
Gothic building; its tower is more than three hundred 
feet high. I ascended this tower and had a fine view 
of the town and country, somewhat interrupted, how- 
ever, by a squall of snow. 

At noon on Thursday I took cars for Frankfort-on- 
the-Main. We passed over a level district, at one 
time in sight of the steeples of Strasburg, on the 
other side of the Rhine, through Carlsruhe and 
Heidelberg, and reached Frankfort after ten p.m. Next 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



day I called on Rev. Dr. Hurst, professor in the 
Martin Institute (now professor in Drew Theological 
Seminary). Both he and his excellent wife gave me a 
cordial reception. Here I found a quiet retreat after 
my long, wearisome journey. The doctor showed 
me all possible attention, and made me feel quite at 
home. Dr. Hurst is a kind, genial, unassuming man, 
exceedingly industrious, and his literary reputation is 
second to that of no man in the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 

With the doctor as a companion and guide, I next 
day strolled over Frankfort to see the curiosities, and 
was especially interested in its large book establish- 
ments. Among the interesting objects may be named 
a statue of Goethe; three statues, representing Guten- 
burg, Faust, and their companion, Schoffer — the first 
printers. The Jewish quarter is interesting on account 
of its antique-looking buildings ; and the house where 
the family of the Rothschilds, the great bankers of 
Europe, were cradled, is still shown. A window, from 
which Luther preached when returning from the Diet 
of Worms, is pointed out in the town. 

Frankfort is a place of great business in United 
States securities, which we observed displayed from a 
banker's window. The population of the town is 
about eighty-four thousand. 

I left Frankfort on Tuesday morning, March 15, at 
six o'clock, for Northern Germany. Dr. Hurst came 
down to the depot to see me off, and to furnish me 
with some books and letters for my journey. The 
morning was cold and clear, and there was some snow 
on the ground. We took train first for Eisenach, 
which we reached a little after noon. The country 



312 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



through which we passed is variegated with hill and 
dale. From Eisenach I walked out to the Wartburg 
Castle, about three-fourths of a mile to the right of 
the depot. To this celebrated castle Luther was con- 
ducted, and protected, after the Diet at Worms, by- 
Frederic the Wise, from May, 1521, till March, 1522. 
In the mean time he was engaged on the translation of 
the Bible. 

I was in the room where he stayed. It is not large ; 
for the most part it is weather-boarded inside; but in 
a place where the boards are wanting, and where 
there is stone, or mortar, a dark place is shown, which 
Luther struck with his inkstand when he threw it at 
the devil. 

The room contains Luther's bedstead, an old-look- 
ing, common piece of furniture. There are also in the 
room his table, chair, book-case, stove, and metal mug. 
The table has iron bound around its edges to prevent 
its being chipped off by visitors. Luther's likeness 
and that of his mother hang on the wall. There is in 
the castle a large hall, where a musical contest was 
held in 1207, of which there is a large painting on the 
wall. There is also in the castle a large banqueting- 
hall. Not far from Luther's room I observed an in- 
scription on the wall in German : 

"Wer liebt nicht Weib, Wein und Gesang, 
Er ist ein Narr sein Leben lang." 

"Who loves not woman, wine, and song, 
He is a fool his whole life long." 

Wartburg Castle has two towers. It is built on a 
hill, from which there is a view of Eisenach and of the 
adjacent country ta a great distance. The country 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



313 



around the castle is beautifully diversified with hill 
and dale. The hills are covered with trees and the 
valleys are deep. It is one of the most charming 
spots I ever saw. 

There was nothing in Eisenach itself of much im- 
portance. I left it in the five p.m. train for Weimar, 
which I reached about eight p.m. Weimar is cele- 
brated for having been the residence of Goethe, Schil- 
ler, Herder, and Wieland. The- houses in which 
Goethe, Schiller, and Wieland lived are two-story, and 
quite common. I observed two dark bronze statues 
of Goethe and Schiller standing on a pedestal about 
eight feet high. Goethe holds in his right hand a 
wreath ; Schiller stands on his left, with a scroll in his 
left hand, while with his right hand he barely touches 
-the wreath. The inscription on the pedestal is: 

DEM DICHTERPAAR 
GOETHE UND SCHILLER 
DAS VATERLAND. 

TO THE TWO POETS, 
GOETHE AND SCHILLER, 
BY THE FATHERLAND. 

Goethe's statue is Webster-like, indicating manli- 
ness and force, while Schiller's rather indicates mild- 
ness and effeminacy. In another part of the town 
stands the statue of Wieland. Herder's statue stands 
near the town church, in which he used to preach. 
I visited the church, the principal attraction being a 
large painting of the crucifixion. I made a visit 
to Goethe's garden-house, not jnore than half a mile 

27 



3H 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



from the town, across a small stream. It is a quite 
common-looking house, two stories high, with pyra- 
midal roof and dormant-windows. 

The population of Weimar is about fourteen thou- 
sand. In the afternoon I left Weimar for Leipzig, 
which I reached before night. The following day was 
rainy, which greatly diminished the enjoyment that 
was to be derived from this great book-mart, — the 
greatest, perhaps, in the world. There is no sign so 
common and so attractive in Leipzig as " BucJihand- 
lung" — Book-trade, Book-store. The number of these 
establishments is said to be two hundred, and the 
visitor might expect to find immense quantities of 
books in these stores, and of every variety. But he is 
surprised to learn upon inquiry, that the very books 
he wishes are not here, and that the stock of books is 
by no means so large as he had expected. He must 
leave his order to be filled. 

I called on our consul, Rev. Mr. Kramer, now 
minister at Copenhagen, and handed him a letter of 
introduction from Dr. Hurst. He accompanied me to 
several of the book-stores. 

Leipzig is also famous for its great university, in which 
are found such men as Tischendorf and Delitzsch. 
The population of Leipzig is about ninety thousand. 
The country around the town is level. In the afternoon 
I took cars for Halle, which I reached before night. 
Next morning I started through the mud for the 
university and the residence of Prof. Jacobi. On en- 
tering the residence of the professor I inquired if he 
was at home ; the lady of the house replied that the 
professor was not, but that the professorin herself, the 
professor's wife, was. Prof. Jacobi was at Rome. I 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



315 



regretted this. I handed her a letter of introduction 
to her husband from Dr. McClintock, which she 
handed to her nephew to read. Mrs. Jacobi brought 
out coffee and bread and butter for me; she spoke 
nothing but German, but pronounced it so distinctly 
that there was no difficulty in following her. Among 
other things I spoke of my visit to Palestine, in which 
she seemed interested. She is certainly an intellectual, 
highly accomplished, and noble woman, worthy of 
being the wife of a university professor. The resi- 
dence of Prof. Jacobi was plain and rather common. 

I next went to the university to hear Prof. Tholuck 
lecture. I found quite a large room, furnished with 
seats and high desks of a very common character. 
There were present about fifty or sixty students, pre- 
pared to take notes. At the appointed time the re- 
nowned professor entered the room and took his seat 
on a platform but little elevated, on which stood a 
reading-desk. His lecture was on the concluding 
part of the Sermon on the Mount. He occasionally 
read from various documents before him ; his voice 
at times was indistinct, and his speech rather slow. 
The latter part of his lecture seemed to be extempore, 
and he spoke of the sublimity of Christ's teachings, 
and the importance of searching deeply into the Scrip- 
tures. Professor Tholuck is of medium size, has dark 
hair, is near-sighted and can scarcely see, and wears 
spectacles. He is now about seventy-two years of 
age, and resembles the late Dr. McCulloch, of Balti- 
more, more closely than any one I know. After lec- 
turing, I was introduced to him, and I accompanied 
him in his walking backwards and forwards near the 
university. He walks several hours a day. I asked 



3i6 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



him if he intended to come to the United States to 
attend the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance to be 
held in New York the following summer. He re- 
plied that he would like to do so but could not. I 
reminded him of the English proverb, that " where 
there is a will there is a way." He answered that his 
health would not allow it. I observed to him that it 
was a wonder that more German professors did not 
go to Palestine. He remarked that they had not the 
means. 

Tholuck is one of the most remarkable, most 
learned, and best known of the German theologians. 
When a youth he was an infidel. Converted at an 
early age to evangelical Christianity, he has had a 
powerful influence in driving rationalism out of Ger- 
many. 

I next visited Prof. Schlottman, who holds the 
position once held by Gesenius, that of Professor of 
Hebrew and Old Testament Literature. He is com- 
paratively young, and has one of the most intellectual- 
looking heads that I ever saw. He spoke in German 
only. We discussed the Samaritans, pantheism, and 
the pronunciation of the Hebrew " ayin!' I was deeply 
impressed with his intellectual character. I saw Pro- 
fessor Muller, but had no introduction to him. 

In the afternoon, Friday, March 18, I left in the 
cars for Berlin by way of Wittenberg. Leaving the 
cars at Wittenberg Station, I went to the town, hardly 
three-fourths of a mile distant, on the left of the rail- 
road. As I passed along I saw close to the road an 
oak-tree about two feet thick, surrounded by an iron 
railing, with the following inscription in German : 
" Dr. Martin Luther burnt in this place, on the ioth 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



317 



December, 1520, the Pope's Bull of Excommunica- 
tion." 

In Wittenberg I visited the Schloss-Kirche in which 
both Luther and Melanchthon are buried. The woman 
who had charge of the church removed from the 
floor in two different places two tablets, which laid 
bare the simple inscriptions over the tombs of these 
great men. In this church Luther's ninety-five Theses 
against the doctrine of Indulgences were posted up on 
the 3 1 st October, 1 5 1 7. These Theses are now posted 
up on the doors in letters of bronze or some other 
metal. In the market-place are two bronze statues of 
Luther and Melanchthon. On Luther's monument 
is the inscription : " A strong Citadel is our God." 
He holds an open Bible with the inscription : " Be- 
lieve the Gospel." The monument of Melanchthon 
contains the inscription: "To the Teacher of Ger- 
many." 

A singular-looking reddish building contains the 
cloister in which Luther was a monk. The popula- 
tion of the town is about twelve thousand. 

From Wittenberg I took the cars after dark for 
Berlin, which I reached late at night, and stopped at 
a hotel, " Unter-den-Linden." The morning light of 
the following day revealed to me the magnificence of 
the city I had entered. Scarcely any city of Europe 
makes a deeper or finer impression upon the traveler 
than Berlin ; its wide streets crossing each other at 
right angles, its splendid buildings, and its vast pro- 
portions, give it an air of grandeur hardly equaled. 
The street " Unter-den-Linden" is about sixty-four 
yards wide. At the head of it is an arch, on which is 
a magnificent statue of a chariot and horses. Under 

27* 



3i» 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



this arch the road to the Thier-Garten, or Zoological 
Gardens, passes. On this street is the magnificent 
University of Berlin, the king's palace, and the theatre ; 
and where the street widens out into a square, the 
Lust-Garten and the Museum. I visited the Zoologi- 
cal Gardens, situated in the woods, about two miles 
from the city. These gardens are not yet completed, 
and the collection of wild animals is not very large. 

On the Sabbath I attended both the English and 
German services in one chapel. The English dis- 
course was delivered by an American from Philadel- 
phia ; the German, by a Methodist minister, Rev. Mr. 
Asher. I dined with Mr. Asher, and in the after- 
noon he sent a guide with me to visit the grave of 
Neander. We found it in the New Jerusalem Church- 
Yard at the end of Frederick Street. The grave is 
surrounded with an iron railing, and a small cypress 
has been planted over it. At the head of the grave 
stands a marble slab, six or seven feet high, contain- 
ing a medallion likeness of Neander, a foot or more in 
diameter, in which the heavy eyebrows and the deep, 
sunken eyes, are plainly visible. Under the likeness 
is the following inscription in German : 

Augustus Neander. 
Born January 16, 1789, 
Died July 14, 1850. 
To the Ever Memorable Brother, 
By His Sister. 

" For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face." — 
I Cor. xiii. 12. 

Not far from the side of his grave is that of his 
sister, Johanna (Jane) Neander, died July 2, 1854. 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



319 



I went away from the grave of this great and good 
man with sad feelings. Who that has ever read his 
" History of the Church" and his " Life of Christ" does 
not admire his profound thought and learning, and 
love his deep piety and candor ? To us short-sighted 
mortals, it seems that such men should live here for- 
ever, to bless and adorn our common humanity. 

In this graveyard lie the ashes of other illustrious 
.dead, but they had not for me half the interest that I 
felt in Neander. 

Berlin is situated on the river Spree, in the midst of 
a sandy plain. A hundred years ago Berlin was com- 
paratively small ; now its population may be put down 
at eight hundred thousand. 

Monday I took cars for Potsdam. Potsdam, though 
originally founded by the electoral prince of Branden- 
burg, owes all its importance to Frederick the Great. 
It contains the royal palace and other objects of in- 
terest. I went through the principal parts of the 
palace, which contains memorials of Frederick the 
Great. Not far from Potsdam is Sans-Souci, where is 
built another palace, near which stands an old wind- 
mill, a memorial of Prussian justice in a case where 
the great Frederick himself was plaintiff. The wind- 
mill, standing too near the palace of the king, was an 
eye-sore to him ; he wished to purchase it, but the 
owner refused to sell it. Frederick declared he would 
have it; " Not so long as justice reigns in Prussia," 
was the reply. The case went into court, and it was 
decided against the monarch. 

In the afternoon I returned to Berlin. The soil be- 
tween Potsdam and Berlin is sandy and apparently 
not fertile. 



320 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



The following day, March 22, they were celebrating 
the emperor's birthday. I left about noon for Dresden, 
which I reached before night. Dresden is divided by 
the river Elbe into two parts ; that on the right bank 
is called the " New Town," and that part on the left 
bank, " Old Town." While in Dresden I visited the 
great gallery of paintings. Among these, the painting 
that interested me most was the one «that represents 
the famous discussion between Dr. Eck, the Roman 
Catholic champion, and Martin Luther, at Leipzig, to 
which the great dignitaries of the land sit listening. 
The figures in this great painting are as large as life. 

I paid a visit to the Rev. Mr. Sawyer, of New Eng- 
land. He received me very kindly ; from him I learned 
the sad intelligence of the death of Rev. Dr. McClin- 
tock, President of Drew Theological Seminary. My 
acquaintance with Dr. McClintock commenced more 
than twenty-five years ago, when he was professor in 
Dickinson College, and I was a student there. He 
was highly intellectual, accomplished, genial, kind, and 
marked by great simplicity of character. His industry 
was untiring. He combined quickness and perspi- 
cacity of intellect with depth and breadth of view. In 
him the Methodist Episcopal Church has lost one 
of her greatest men, and her most finished scholar. 
Never shall I cease to lament his death. 

Dresden has a population of about one hundred and 
forty-five thousand inhabitants, and is the capital of 
the kingdom of Saxony. I was not greatly pleased 
with the city. 

Ori the afternoon of Wednesday I left Dresden, pass- 
ing through Chemnitz, a great manufacturing town > 
especially distinguished for its spinning operations. At 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



321 



Hof I stopped four hours at the depot waiting for the 
departure of the next train, which left long before day. 
Between Dresden and Bamberg there was a large 
quantity of snow on the ground ; but it disappeared at 
Bamberg. At Wlirzburg, having come down the Val- 
ley of the Main by rail, I took cars for Heidelberg, 
which I reached soon after dark. The country between 
Wurzburg and Heidelberg is most beautiful. 

Next morning I went to the old castle of the elec- 
tors palatine, standing on the hill above the town and 
commanding a fine view of the town and country 
around. The old castle is partly dilapidated and over- 
grown with ivy. In the cellar I saw the famous wine 
cask, " the tun of Heidelberg." It stands in a hori- 
zontal position. I found it to be about twenty-seven 
feet long and twenty feet in diameter. In speaking of 
it, a German assured me that the cask was empty ; which 
was to have been expected. Heidelberg contains a 
flourishing university, which more than five hundred 
students attend. Its theological department is ration- 
alistic, and the students in this department are few. 
The population of Heidelberg is about seventeen thou- 
sand. It is beautifully situated on the river Neckar. 

From Heidelberg I crossed the Rhine at Mannheim, 
and took the cars for Worms, to see the famous monu- 
ment erected to Luther and other distinguished Re- 
formers of the church. 

Luther's monument stands in an open place near 
the border of the town. It was begun in 1856 and 
completed in 1868. The substruction, or foundation, 
on which the monument rests, is of blue granite, 
ascended by two steps, and is in the form of a quad- 
rangle, forty feet square. The spectator who stands 



322 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



in front of the monument has on the left corner of the 
quadrangle, on a pedestal eight feet high, of polished 
syenite, a bronze statue eight and a half feet high, of 
Frederic the Wise, Elector of Saxony. On the right 
corner of the quadrangle, we have a similar statue of 
Philip the Magnanimous, resting on a pedestal similar 
to the preceding. On the rear corner on the right 
stands Philip Melanchthon, and on the left corner John 
Reuchlin. Between the two corner figures, in front, 
there is an entrance to the platform, thirty feet wide. 
The three remaining sides are inclosed by three walls 
with pinnacles from four to five feet high, of polished 
syenite. From the middle of each battlement rises a 
figure six feet high, resting on a pedestal of syenite, 
seven feet high. These figures represent cities : Augs- 
burg with the palm of peace, mourning Magdeburg, 
and protesting Spires. On the inside of the twenty- 
four pinnacles of the walls are represented the coats of 
arms of twenty-four cities which fought and suffered 
for the Reformation: i. Braunschweig; 2. Bremen; 
3. Constance; 4. Eisenach; 5. Eisleben ; 6. Emden ; 
7. Erfurt; 8. Frankfort-on-the-Main; 9. Swabish-Hall ; 
10. Hamburg ; 11. Heilbronn ; 12. Jena; 13. Konigs- 
berg; 14. Leipzig; 15. Lindau ; 16. Liibeck ; 17. Mar- 
burg; 18. Memmingen ; 19. Nordlingen ; 20. Riga; 
21. Schmalkalden ; 22. Strassburg; 23. Ulm; 24. Wit- 
tenberg. 

From the midst of these surrounding figures rises 
the Luther monument proper. Upon the four project- 
ing corners of the richly ornamented pedestal, that is 
sixteen feet high, sit four champions of the Reforma- 
tion : Peter Waldo, of France ; John Wickliff, of Eng- 
land; John Huss, of Bohemia; and Savonarola, of 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



323 



Italy. A colossal bronze statue of Luther, ten feet and 
a half high, upon a pedestal about twenty-seven feet 
high, crowns the whole work. 

The principal pedestal consists of three parts ; the 
lower part of polished syenite, and the other two cubes, 
of unequal height and breadth, are of bronze. In front, 
under Luther's statue, are the bold and decisive words 
that he uttered in the famous Diet in the city: " Here 
I stand, I cannot do otherwise, God help me ! Amen !" 

On the pedestals are various scenes from Luther's 
life represented, and striking passages from his works 
are inscribed. 

The old Cathedral of Worms still stands ; but the 
building in which the famous Diet was held has been 
removed. Its site was pointed out to me, not far from 
the cathedral. From Worms I returned to Frankfort. 

Before leaving Germany, it seems proper that I 
should offer some reflections upon the people. The 
first thing that strikes an American traveler in Ger- 
many is the marked contrast between the Germans at 
home and the mass of those he sees in his own country. 
In the Fatherland he beholds so many elegant-looking, 
accomplished men and women, that it is not easy to 
recognize them as Germans. As might be expected, 
it is the lower classes, generally, that emigrate. Some 
of the finest-looking women that I have ever seen I 
saw in Germany and in German-speaking Switzerland ; 
they combine fine physique with beauty of person. 

The Germans are greatly distinguished for their 
industry and economy. They generally acquire money 
slowly, and take good care of what they acquire. In 
speaking to the Germans of my travels in Egypt and 
Palestine, the reply was : " Schone Reise, aber es kostet 



324 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



viel Geld." ("A beautiful journey, but it costs a great 
deal of mo)tey. ,) ) The expense of living is less in Ger- 
many than in any other part of Europe. 

The Germans surpass the Americans in devoting 
themselves to special subjects, and in exhausting them. 
But for general culture, and for combining theory with 
practice, the only healthful way to develop the intel- 
lect, the Americans surpass them. Certainly, we are 
more practical than they are. I do not think that the 
masses of the Germans read as much as our people do. 

The religious condition of Germany is very un- 
settled. Forty years ago rationalistic professors had 
possession of the theological chairs in nearly all the 
universities. Their influence was most disastrous ; for 
with such guides as these what must the masses have 
become ! The publication of a " Life of Christ" by the 
pantheist Strauss threw all Germany into a ferment, 
and aroused discussion on all sides. Multitudes of 
books were showered forth from the press on the con- 
troverted subjects, and the origin, genuineness, and 
authenticity of the gospels have been discussed with 
a thoroughness before unknown ; and the results of 
the discussion have been altogether advantageous to 
Christianity, as the genuineness of the gospels and 
the authenticity of the history of Christ have been 
established with a mass of evidence — partly new — 
well-nigh irresistible. The Gospel of John is the 
principal object of attack at present on the part of 
some extreme rationalists, but the great weight of 
critical authority even among the rationalists is de- 
cidedly in favor of its genuineness. 

At present the theological chairs in the universities, 
with hardly an exception, are filled with professors 



AND THE HOL Y LAND, 



325 



who are evangelical. When in Berlin I was told that 
rationalism was regarded as scientifically dead. Con- 
sul Kramer, at Leipzig, observed to me that in that 
town, the seat of a great university, all or nearly all in 
the learned professions believe in the fundamental 
principles of Christianity ; some of them, however, 
doubt the Divinity of Christ, and occasionally question 
the authority of some book of the Bible. 

Of course there is still much rationalism among 
the masses. The meat has already been eaten from 
off the limbs of the rationalistic system by the learned, 
and now the masses are gnawing the bones. What 
Germany needs is the separation of church and state 
and a pure evangelical Christianity. 

When the Protestant churches of Germany lost 
their spirituality, and when men without experimental 
religion were appointed by the state to officiate as 
ministers, what could be expected? Men, conscious 
of the manifestation of no Divine power in their own 
experience, could not easily believe in the manifesta- 
tion of such power in revelation. The union of 
church and state is often disastrous to religion ; for 
when people consider themselves oppressed by the 
state, they naturally hate the church, its ally; and 
from hating the church, it is easy to glide into hating 
Christianity itself. What a different example and re- 
sults do the United States offer ! 

On Monday morning, March 28, I left Frankfort 
for Mayence. Dr. Hurst accompanied me to the depot. 
At Mayence I took a Rhine steamer for Cologne. The 
Rhine steamers are very narrow, sharp, and swift. 
Their engines are very powerful, having cylinders that 
move at the same time with the piston. Small boats 

28 



326 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



bring the passengers to and from the steamers in the 
stream with great expedition. We saw on our left the 
beautiful town of Bingen, situated in a valley close to 
the Rhine. At this town the most celebrated scenery 
on the Rhine commenced, and the river passes through 
a mountainous country where numerous old castles 
are seen on the heights on both sides of the river. The 
hill-sides of the Rhine are covered in many places 
with terraces and vines. The last scenery of any value 
is that of the Seven Mountains. The breadth of the 
Rhine is from two to three hundred yards between 
Mayence and Cologne. 

A considerable time before reaching Coblenz, the 
country on the left bank of the Rhine becomes low. 
At Coblenz a bridge of boats extends across the river, 
a section of which is removed to allow the steamers to 
pass. Opposite to Coblenz is a lofty, celebrated citadel, 
Ehrenbreitstein. Coblenz is a beautiful town. Below 
this town the left bank of the Rhine is but little elevated 
above the water, and the right bank also becomes low. 
At Bonn the Rhine is about three hundred yards wide, 
and the banks low. It is said that it has been dis- 
covered that Julius Caesar built his famous bridge over 
the Rhine at Bonn. I reached Cologne about dark. 
The passage from Mayence, a distance of one hundred 
and forty-one miles, had occupied about nine and a 
quarter hours. 

I spent that night in Cologne close to its great 
cathedral, and left next morning at six o'clock in the 
cars for Brussels. The day was cold and disagreeable, 
and there was no fire in the car. The country through 
which we passed was low. We saw on the right, close 
to the road, Aachen, as it is there called, better known 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



327 



among us as Aix-la^Chapelle. Here Charlemagne is 
buried. At Verviers the country is hilly. Here, in 
passing into Belgium, we changed cars, and our bag- 
gage was examined. I reached Brussels a little after 
noon. 

Brussels is one of the finest cities of Europe. The 
French language is here spoken, and the whole cast 
of the town is French, a " Paris in miniature." The 
city contains a fine park, adjoining which are the 
House of Representatives and the King's Palace. We 
especially noticed in the Place Royal a fine equestrian 
statue of Godfrey of Bouillon, who led the crusaders 
when Jerusalem was captured from the Moslems in 
1099. In front of the Hotel de Ville, standing on one 
pedestal, are bronze statues of Counts Egmont and 
Horn, almost on the very spot where they were exe- 
cuted by the Duke of Alva. Brussels is especially 
distinguished for its fine lace. We visited the Museum 
of Painting, with which we were greatly interested ; 
but we must say that by this time we had a surfeit of 
paintings and statuary. 

The population of Brussels is about one hundred 
and eighty-eight thousand. After making a hasty 
survey of the town, we left at five p.m. for Antwerp, 
which we reached in about an hour. The country 
between Brussels and Antwerp is level. I visited the 
cathedral ; but I had become weary of visiting cathe- 
drals and public buildings in general. Antwerp is by 
no means a beautiful town ; it is on the frontier of Bel- 
gium, but it is hard to say what the prevailing language 
is. Here I found the most miserable coffee I ever 
drank ; it was very black, and chicory must have been 
its principal ingredient. 



3 28 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



The population of Antwerp is a little over one hun- 
dred thousand. It was my intention to take a steamer 
from Antwerp to some port in the north of England. 
With this intention I made search along the wharf 
for a steamer bound for that region. The regular 
steamer between Antwerp and Hull had been taken 
off. I found a small, common-looking steamer, on 
which it was posted that it would start for Hull and 
Goole at twelve m. I had understood, however, that it 
would not really leave before one p.m. I inquired of the 
captain at w r hat hour he would leave. He replied, "At 
twelve ;" " But," said I, "you will hardly get off before 
one?" " You ask a question," said he, roughly, "and 
answer it yourself." I gave him the reason for my 
inquiry and answer. " Of what nationality are you ?" 
I asked. "John Bull," was his answer. "I might 
have guessed that," I added. " Well," I continued, " I 
have met Englishmen abroad, and they have always 
treated me kindly; I don't see why we cannot get 
along together." He said he thought we could. 

We left at noon on Wednesday, March 30, for 
Goole. Our accommodations were very poor. We 
passed down the Scheldt, on each side bounded by a 
low country. In this region as well as in other parts 
of Europe, wind-mills are to be seen. We saw on our 
right the town of Flushing; we entered the North Sea 
a little before sunset, and I soon found myself terribly 
sea-sick. 

On the afternoon of the next day we entered the 
Humber, a very wide river. All the English coast, as 
far as the eye could reach, was very low. We anchored 
in front of Hull for about an hour, and proceeded up 
the river to Goole, in Yorkshire, which we reached 



AND THE HOL Y LAND. 



329 



about seven p.m. The country along the river is low. 
I stopped at Goole for the night. To reach England 
was almost like getting home. The sound of my 
native tongue, and the institutions, customs, and re- 
ligion of a people similar to our own were refreshing. 
We had for supper at our hotel warm cake-bread of 
wheat flour, and some ham, broiled or fried. How 
delicious ! I had grown weary of the cold, dry bread 
of the continent, and was glad to find something like 
what I was accustomed to get at home. 

Next morning, about six o'clock, the custom-house 
officer examined my trunk. He was strict in his ex- 
amination, and made me open a box of prunes, — three 
or four pounds that I bought at Smyrna, which no 
custom-house officer anywhere on the continent had 
required me to open. In opening them I spilled a 
part of them on the ground ; I was greatly annoyed 
at his severe scrutiny, and grumbled a great deal. At 
seven a.m. I left in the cars for Liverpool, which I 
reached about noon. The country near Goole and 
Liverpool is level, but the intermediate part, the middle 
of England, is hilly. 

At Liverpool I met Mr. E. G. Johnson, of Michigan, "~ 
with whom I started, in the afternoon of the day of my 
arrival, for Glasgow, Scotland. The country north of 
Liverpool is level for many miles, but on approaching 
the north of England it grows hilly. We reached Glas- 
gow the same evening. Next day we visited the objects 
of special interest : the cemetery, in which is a statue 
of the famous Scotch Reformer, John Knox ; the cathe- 
dral, founded by Bishop Joceline, in 1 175; the public 
square, etc. The day was damp and foggy, and the 
smoke from the numerous manufacturing establish- 

28* 



33Q 



A JOURNEY TO EGYPT 



ments, combined with the damp atmosphere, made the 
place no longer endurable. Glasgow is a very large, 
fine city, the smoke excepted. We left on Saturday 
for Edinburgh, which we reached before night. It 
seemed rather strange that the Scotch should think so 
clearly amid so much smoke. This fact is clearly 
an argument against materialism. The change from 
Glasgow to Edinburgh was refreshing. It is true that 
Edinburgh was not entirely free from smoke; but the 
location itself of the city, which is built on three hills, 
its fine houses and monuments, its well-dressed and 
thrifty inhabitants, and the fame of the city, made a fine 
impression upon us. We visited Holyrood Palace — 
the castle distinguished especially in the history of 
Mary Queen of Scots — and Walter Scott's magnificent 
pyramidal monument. 

On Sunday morning we attended service in St. Giles's 
Church, where John Knox once preached. The pulpit 
which he used we saw in the museum in the city. 

On Monday morning we drove around "Arthur's 
Seat," a conspicuous hill near Edinburgh. 

In the afternoon we returned to Liverpool. Next 
day we strolled over the town and made some pur- 
chases, and prepared to sail for New York. Liverpool 
is a great commercial and splendid city ; but it has no 
street thronged like Broadway, New York. Nor have 
I anywhere seen such a street. 

The following day, Wednesday, April 6, we went on 
board of a tug, and were put on the steamer " Colorado," 
*4ying in the river opposite Liverpool. About two 
o'clock p.m. our splendid ship started for the New 
World. We were delighted with the rest we were 
now enjoying, and with the prospect of again seeing 



AND THE HOLY LAND. 



331 



our native land. The weather was delightful and calm 
until we left the Irish coast, after which we had squalls 
and a rough sea most of the passage. Our ship had 
aboard one thousand two hundred emigrants, princi- 
pally Welsh, besides cabin passengers. We had boats 5 
on deck that might have saved five or six hundred 
only in case of accident. It was not a very pleasant 
thought. On Sunday morning, April 17, we took a 
pilot on board. It was Easter Sunday, the day was 
fine and the sea was calm. I obtained permission 
from Captain Williams — who was very kind to me 
during the voyage — to preach to the emigrants. All 
that could, assembled in the aft part of the ship, on the 
upper deck. The singing upon the ocean was sublime • 
I announced my text, reminding them that it was Eas- 
ter, and addressed them half an hour or more, perhaps. 

On Monday we had a heavy fog, and our ship pro- 
ceeded slowly, blowing the whistle, and at times stand- 
ing still. At length the fog passed away and we en- 
tered within Sandy Hook. The sight of the American 
coast was cheering, and there was a feeling of security 
when I entered within the Hook, such as I never felt 
upon the ocean. Our vessel anchored in the harbor 
for the night. Next morning we were put ashore, and 
in the evening I took cars for Baltimore, and next 
morning, about eight o'clock, I entered the home of 
my mother, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, after 
an absence of six months and a half. 

I had not been detained on my journey a single day 
through sickness. The medicines I took abroad, blue 
mass and quinine pills, at the advice of my friend, Dr. 
Henry M. Wilson, of Baltimore, I brought back, hav- 
ing had no necessity to use them. A merciful Provi- 
dence had preserved me. 



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